"That's because you, you damn chubby guy, suddenly let go, getting the corpse's grease all over me!" the fleshy-faced woman retorted, not to be outdone. "Besides, I only took two steps back! Do you have pig brains? Didn't you think to come find me? When I turned around, you two were gone! I'm the one who was almost scared to death, okay!"
"Find you? How were we supposed to find you?" the black man said irritably. "All we heard was a scream, then you vanished. The fire was gone too, and we couldn't see a thing. We called for you, but you didn't answer. We got completely lost in the dark."
The madam thought for a moment and said, "But you should have been able to see the bonfire, right? Couldn't you have just followed it back?"
"That's the creepy part, we couldn't see the bonfire either!" The black man had a look of lingering fear as he recalled, saying, "It was like the whole world went black. We couldn't see anything, and shouting got no response, like we'd run into a ghost. Luckily, the chubby guy and I were close. I grabbed his clothes, and when I spoke to him, he could still manage a few replies."
"Yeah, it was so creepy then. Brother Daniel and I were almost scared to death..." the chubby guy said, his heart still pounding with fear. "We couldn't get our bearings either, so we just wandered around nearby looking for the path, but as we were searching... we suddenly lost consciousness."
Hearing this, the fleshy-faced woman's eyes widened slightly. "...You too?"
"You fainted?" The madam was stunned. "And then?"
"And then we woke up just now," the chubby guy said, spreading his hands.
"Yeah, we probably woke up less than ten minutes ago..." the black man added. "When we came to, both of us were lying on the beach. Then... we got up, found our direction, walked this way a bit, and saw you all. So we ran over."
"Huh?" The madam was dumbfounded. "That's... it? That simple?"
Both the black man and the chubby guy nodded.
"We don't know what happened either, but everything we're saying is true..." the black man said, scratching his dreadlocks.
Just then, Fumiya Jin and Nijika came over.
Fumiya Jin first glanced at the numbers above their heads.
Unchanged.
Just like the fleshy-faced woman, their countdowns hadn't changed at all. They were still set to die around this evening.
So, were they really just controlled by some strange power in the darkness, got lost on the beach for a while, and then passed out?
As Fumiya Jin was pondering this...
"Kcha... kchak-kchak..." A strange sound echoed, like the grinding of teeth.
Fumiya Jin snapped back to reality and looked at the two men's faces, only to find their eyes fixed intently on him, their cheeks twitching.
Of course, the moment they noticed Fumiya Jin looking, the two immediately averted their gazes.
But their cheeks continued to twitch, as if they were fighting with their own expressions.
Seeing this, Fumiya Jin raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "What's wrong with you two?"
"Nothing..."
"Nandemonai."
The two replied at once.
But Fumiya Jin wasn't convinced.
He narrowed his eyes and slowly walked in front of them, entering their line of sight.
The two immediately looked away again, their facial twitching growing more violent. Even the corner of one of their mouths started to spasm.
"You two don't look very well," Fumiya Jin said, watching them.
"No, no..." the two men shook their heads hastily.
"Then why won't you look me in the eye?" Fumiya Jin said with a raised brow. "Are you looking down on me?"
"No, no," the black man said quickly. "It's... it's because the Doctor is too handsome. One look is enough to make a man jealous. So... I don't dare to look."
"Yes, yes, yes, that's it! It's all because the Doctor is too handsome... I don't dare look, for fear... for fear of turning gay..." the chubby guy chimed in hurriedly.
"Oh? Is that so?" Fumiya Jin started to smile.
"Yes, yes!" The two nodded like bobbleheads.
"But I have this little quirk. The more someone doesn't want to do something, the more I enjoy watching them do it. So..."
As Fumiya Jin spoke, his voice suddenly turned cold.
With a flick of his hand, a tachi materialized out of thin air.
He plunged it, scabbard and all, into the sand.
"Now, please, look at me properly, okay?"
The chubby guy and the black man were instantly struck by a breathtaking chill.
Though bathed in the warm morning sun, they felt as if they had been plunged into an icy cavern.
It felt as if the slightest disobedience would get them sliced in half the next second.
Their hearts leaped into their throats. Not daring to hesitate for even a moment, they quickly turned their heads straight and looked at Fumiya Jin.
But it would have been better if they hadn't...
The moment they did, both of their faces began to convulse.
It was like a glitch in the middle of a Sichuan opera face-changing performance.
Or as if countless parasites were crawling around under their skin.
Their expressions trembled violently, and their eyes flickered madly between extreme terror and hatred...
Now, Nijika and the madam, who had been standing behind them and feeling a bit confused by the conversation, also sensed that something was wrong—why were the two men's expressions so bizarre?
"Gentlemen, your expressions are a little... strange," Fumiya Jin said with a slight smile, placing his left hand on the black man's right shoulder and his right hand on the chubby guy's left shoulder. "Are you dissatisfied with me in some way?"
The black man and the chubby guy instantly broke into a cold sweat, their bodies trembling slightly.
"N-no..."
"R-really... no..."
The madam couldn't help but speak up. "Doctor, is... something wrong with them?"
Nijika also felt the tense atmosphere. Becoming wary, she asked, "Is there a problem?"
A flash of desperation and hesitation crossed the eyes of the black man and the chubby guy... They stole a glance at each other, as if considering some kind of desperate, last-resort decision...
But just then.
Fumiya Jin released their shoulders.
He took a step back, pulled the tachi from the ground, put it away, and then broke into a relaxed smile.
"It's nothing. I was just teasing them. No need to be tense," Fumiya Jin said with a smile to the madam and Nijika.
Then he looked at the chubby guy and the black man and said, "I don't know what really happened last night, but it's good that you're back safely. We have a lot to do today, so there's not much time for you to rest. Besides, because you two disappeared last night, we were worried sick and didn't get much sleep. So you'll have to put in some extra effort today."
At these words, the chubby guy and the black man looked as if they had received a royal pardon.
They let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
The black man even patted his chest and assured him, "Don't you worry, Boss Doctor! Just tell us what needs doing!"
__________________
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