On the street back.
Dawn and Tara saw Li Dan coming toward them. They still remembered him well: handsome, with a very beautiful girlfriend by his side.
Under normal circumstances, Tara might have given him a few extra looks, struck up a conversation, maybe even had a one-night stand.
But because of that clown, she only wanted to get home as soon as possible.
Dawn was different. She had wanted to go up and take pictures even when she saw what the clown looked like, let alone a handsome guy. Besides, it was two nights before Halloween Eve; Halloween would be here in another two days.
Of course she wanted to find a handsome man to spend it with. This one looked pretty good.
"Hello, handsome. We met at the Chinese restaurant. Where's your girlfriend? How could she leave you here alone? That's terribly irresponsible."
Li Dan glanced at the heavily made-up Dawn. "I had the butler take her home first."
The moment he saw the two of them, he knew that the restaurant owner and employees had probably already met with disaster.
Sometimes, working too hard was not a good thing.
Still, they had at least fed Li Dan a meal. Later, he would avenge the owner and staff a little. He was also curious about Art the Clown's physical structure.
Hearing that Li Dan had a butler, Dawn's gaze grew even more eager. He was obviously rich, and she even invited him outright.
"If you don't mind, you can come spend the night at my place. I don't think your girlfriend would mind, right? After all, I won't tell?"
Li Dan could not even be bothered with such a cheap schemer. He merely looked at the embarrassed Tara beside her.
"You should get home early, or call a cab."
With that, he ignored everything else and continued walking back. Dead or alive, he had to go take a look.
After Li Dan left, Tara could no longer hold herself back and questioned Dawn.
"Have you lost your mind? First you provoked a lunatic, and now you're thinking about taking some guy home to sleep with."
Dawn said indifferently, "When you're lonely, it's normal to find a man to have some fun with. At worst, I'll share half with you."
"..."
Tara had no interest in a threesome. The nights before Halloween had already been awful enough.
She only hoped Halloween Eve and Halloween itself would not be so terrible.
Chinese restaurant.
Since Halloween was drawing near, two jack-o'-lanterns had been set outside the restaurant to fit in with the local customs.
From mid-October onward, people carved pumpkins into lamps. Orange and black became the main colors, symbolizing the warding off of evil and disaster.
There were many versions of Halloween's origins.
The main version involved the Catholic Church setting November 1 as All Saints' Day. Since the date was close to Halloween, they eventually became one holiday.
By the end of the century, as Ireland brought Halloween customs to North America, Halloween lost its religious meaning and became a traditional holiday centered around revelry.
The common view was that Halloween originated from harvest celebrations and ghost festivals in ancient Western European countries such as Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Li Dan celebrated Halloween too. When in Rome, do as the Romans did.
It was just that those jack-o'-lanterns looked like they were dressed up as ghosts and monsters.
Could ghosts scare other ghosts?
When Li Dan arrived, the restaurant door was closed, but the lights inside were still on.
He gave it a light push.
The door opened with a creak.
The worst-case scenario had appeared. Li Dan walked in and saw plenty of ketchup on the floor. Well, the color looked somewhat like ketchup.
That was a hell joke.
He reached the kitchen.
The owner and employees' heads hung side by side, but their bodies had disappeared.
He could not quite remember whether they had been eaten. He did not know whether Art the Clown ate people, but he remembered that the one from It, Art's clown brother, rather liked eating.
One little brat had gotten curious and had an entire hand, along with his whole body, eaten.
Art the Clown was not at the crime scene now, so Li Dan could only search nearby.
Li Dan did not want to leave this matter until morning. Morning would be Halloween Eve.
The children of Round Clam Town would dress in all kinds of costumes that day and take part in parades or parties, while adults often played bobbing for apples.
There was also trick-or-treating.
One of children's favorite activities.
They went door to door asking for candy.
No treats, then tricks!
As well as all sorts of activities, such as exploring haunted houses.
In short, all kinds of monsters and demons would emerge that day.
It was better to contain a menace like Art the Clown early.
On another street.
The sisters' tires had really been punctured.
Tara immediately thought of the man who had told them to go home early or take a cab, but that seemed impossible upon reflection.
Judging from his clothes, which suggested either wealth or status, the possibility was extremely low.
For some reason, she thought of the clown.
To make matters worse, a police announcement came over the radio again.
And the location was the restaurant where they had just eaten. The owner and employees had all been killed. According to the caller, it had been a clown carrying a black plastic bag.
Tara instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
She hurriedly nudged Dawn beside her.
"Let's not wait for roadside assistance. Let's call a cab and go home first."
Dawn was somewhat unconcerned. After killing people, the murderer should have fled long ago. How could he possibly still be in town?
That was indeed the usual mindset of a normal murderer.
Tara had nothing to say. She called her younger sister and asked her to pick her up. After the call, she suddenly felt a hot rush pressing against her bladder.
When she opened the car window, she found they were stuck in the middle of nowhere.
If she could help it, she really did not want to pee in the street like Dawn.
Sharp-eyed Tara spotted a janitor near a building who had just opened the door and lit a cigarette at the entrance.
She immediately got out of the car and approached him.
"Hello, sir. Could I borrow the restroom in the building?"
The janitor was about to refuse when Dawn called out from the car.
"Please, she only needs to use the restroom once. Tara will definitely make you happy."
The janitor's eyes lit up as he looked at Tara's outfit. She did seem quite nice: a little leather jacket, little leather pants, and from top to bottom, a glimpse of a deep cleavage line.
His heart immediately grew heated.
"I can let you use the restroom, but afterward..."
He did not finish the sentence: afterward, you know what I want. But he thought the woman in front of him should understand what he meant.
Tara wanted to refuse, but her bladder would not allow it. She could only pretend to agree first, use the restroom, and figure out how to deal with this lust-crazed janitor afterward.
"Of course."
A smile tugged at the janitor's lips. He cheerfully opened the building's doors and even kindly told Tara the exact location so she would not waste time looking.
Tara entered the building and found it extremely run-down.
As for the restroom, it was beyond words. It was practically coated in grime.
But she could only suppress her disgust, find one that looked relatively clean, and go inside.
A few minutes later.
Tara felt completely relieved. She gave the restroom a disgusted look and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, the sound of a baby crying piqued her curiosity.
Could it be an abandoned baby?
Wanting to take a look, Tara did not leave immediately but followed the sound.
"Ah!"
A hand suddenly landed on Tara's shoulder, startling her. When she turned around, she saw a dazed-looking woman holding a doll in her arms. The sound had been coming from the doll.
Tara tried to speak with her, but the woman seemed to have some mental problems and kept talking to herself.
Tara did not intend to waste any more time. She only wanted to leave the building immediately.
Ignoring the woman, Tara followed the path she had taken and pushed open the door.
She had only taken a few steps when she froze.
Because love awaited her around the corner.
The clown from the Chinese restaurant stood there, his face covered in blood, staring at her with a strange smile.
The two of them looked at each other for several seconds.
Their eyes met...
Before you continue