Chapter 39: "So..."
Rango pulled out a handkerchief and vigorously wiped his hand after ringing the doorbell; his patience was nearing its limit.
For the past few minutes, with each press of the doorbell,
the sound effects rose from a low murmur to a high crescendo, until finally revealing an exhausted groan.
Yet the heavy mahogany door remained closed, showing no sign of opening.
Just as he was considering kicking it open, the deep red door suddenly opened a crack.
Behind the dimly lit door, a pair of eyes first carefully scrutinized him, then the door slowly swung open.
An old man in a butler's uniform, with shoulder-length white hair and a disheveled appearance, stepped out.
The old man greeted him warmly. "You must be a student in Professor Oldman's research group, right? I'm the caretaker here, Hanson."
Rango didn't rush to answer, but instead carefully examined the man's outstretched left hand—a pair of disgustingly deformed, tiny hands, looking like withered chicken claws.
He pursed his lips, ultimately unable to muster the courage to shake it.
"Hanson? Oh, nice name."
Rango smiled, ignoring the butler's outstretched deformed hand, and lightly punched the man's shoulder as a greeting.
"I'm Rango, Rango Wynn. You can just call me Rango."
"Oh, Rango Wynn? Your name is nice too."
The old man was about to imitate him by tapping him with his deformed hand, but Rango, who was prepared, dodged it.
He then replied with a smile, "But I'm not a student in Professor Oldman's research group. I'm here to find someone."
"Oh?"
Caretaker Hanson was a little surprised. He looked at the smiling man in front of him and was about to speak when a familiar female voice suddenly came from inside the house.
Cindy waved excitedly and ran to the door.
"Rango~"
the girl exclaimed happily as she ran over. "I was just worried you might get lost, but you made it here in no time!"
She then turned to Hanson and said earnestly, "This is my friend. He also wants to visit the mansion and observe our research project. Would that be okay?"
Hanson glanced at the two people in front of him, a creepy smile spreading across his face. "Of course," he said. "The master's mansion welcomes anyone to visit and conduct research."
With that, he stepped aside to let Rango in.
Rango nodded gratefully to Cindy and then stepped inside.
He looked around; the entire hall was decorated without any obvious oddities, much like a typical mansion.
The only noteworthy feature was the birdcage with a parrot in the corner.
"Hi, little guy, want a cracker?" Rango smiled and reached out toward it.
The next second, the palm-sized green parrot suddenly burst into a tirade: "Fuck off! I just want to eat your wife's ass!"
"What?!" Rango was stunned. "What did you just say?"
"I said I want to eat your wife's ass!" the parrot repeated fearlessly.
Seeing this, some small details that Rango had forgotten came back to him.
That's right, he had almost forgotten that there was a foul-mouthed parrot in this place—just like in Scary Movie 2.
"OK,"
Rango's lips curled into a meaningful smile. He didn't engage in a verbal battle with the little thing, but instead pointed two fingers at his eyes and then at it.
Looks like he could have a midnight snack tonight.
He then followed the caretaker up to the second floor, where guest rooms were prepared. Upon reaching this floor, the first thing that caught his eye was a corridor filled with portraits.
The caretaker led the way, introducing each person as they walked: "This is Mrs. Kane, this is Mr. Kane."
Rango nodded at each person in the classical oil paintings, but when he saw the last few, he exclaimed in surprise: "Who are these people?"
"Them? Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, and next to them is Tupac,"
the caretaker recalled. "They're both kind and law-abiding gentlemen."
"…"
Rango's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this.
He couldn't understand why a mansion owner like Kane would have a painting of West Coast rappers hanging in his house. Was it some kind of nostalgia trip?
"Oh?"
But Rango's attention was instantly diverted when he saw what came next.
It was a creepy clown doll placed on a chair.
"This little thing is quite... interesting," Rango said, pointing at the clown.
"This is the master's old toy, but I don't know how it ended up out here," the caretaker explained, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
Rango raised an eyebrow and looked at the clown a few more times. If nothing unexpected happened, this thing's fate wouldn't be pleasant.
Walking down the corridor, the caretaker arranged a fairly spacious guest room for Rango, then quietly closed the door and left, clearly not intending to chat much.
Rango was already used to this; according to his plan, he would only stay here for one night at most.
When Rango finished unpacking and came downstairs, the mansion, which had previously only contained him and Cindy, was now filled with many people.
Among them, the one who caught his attention the most was a stunningly beautiful woman with a killer figure.
"Well, well, look who's here."
A tall man in a suit greeted him warmly, extending his hand. "Cindy has already told me about you. I'm Professor Oldman, and also the lead on this research project. Welcome to the team, Rango."
"Hello, Professor,"
Rango replied with a humble smile. "To be honest, I was a little worried about disturbing your research."
"Don't be shy, buddy,"
Professor Oldman patted Rango's shoulder affectionately, then lowered his voice, saying with a hint of humor, "But let's be clear upfront, the one with the best figure, Tori, is mine. Don't try to steal her from me."
Hearing this, Rango raised an eyebrow and followed Professor Oldman's gaze. Sure enough, the stunning woman in the tight-fitting, low-cut dress, showing off her curves, was indeed Tori.
"Do as you please,"
Rango replied, then went on to greet the others. As he had expected, aside from Professor Oldman and the wheelchair-bound scientist nicknamed "The Professor," there were seven students in total.
The three students were Cindy's friends, named Brenda, Ray, and Shorty.
Rango greeted them warmly with fist bumps; each of these three had vibrant personalities.
He then turned to the remaining students. One of them, a woman with a ponytail and an intense expression, kept clenching her fist, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Rango forced a polite smile and turned to look at Tori, whom Professor Oldman had mentioned earlier. He had to admit, this woman's figure rivaled Gloria's.
However, Gloria's face and demeanor gave off a pure, seductive vibe, while Tori was more overtly sexual.
"Hi."
Tori stepped forward, took Rango's hand, her eyes sparkling, and licked her red lips seductively. "If I had known I would meet you, I should have worn less."
"Oh," Rango laughed without flinching at the woman's directness. "Don't rush, we still have the whole night, don't we?"
"Interesting, but I'll tell you in advance."
Tori whispered in his ear, "I'm Catholic, so I can't have any premarital sex."
"So?"
"We can only do everything but that."
(End of Chapter)
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