Old Jerry saw Gilan come back carrying shopping bags and a basket of flowers, and couldn't help but freeze.
But soon, the wrinkles on his old face blossomed like chrysanthemums, and he gave a knowing smile before saying:
"Miss Sparrow likes gardening. I'm sure she'll love your gift, sir."
"Uh." Gilan stopped at the foot of the stairs and blinked. "I bought these for myself."
But Old Jerry seemed to see right through his ruse. Smiling, he shook his head and turned toward the kitchen to start preparing lunch.
Gilan could faintly hear him murmuring:
"Who buys flowers for himself...? Young people these days are still too shy."
Gilan raised an eyebrow and couldn't be bothered to explain. He went straight up to the third floor and returned to his room.
He sorted the things he'd bought into categories, stacked them neatly, and put them in the wardrobe. Then he took his money and valuables out of the tin box, stuffed them all into his new leather wallet, and carried it with him.
That evening.
Old Jerry brought him the documents Mr. Stork had copied, containing information about Black Lake.
Gilan sat alone in his room, reading through them.
The Record Society hadn't explored Black Lake very thoroughly, so there wasn't much valuable information.
Still, one detail was worth noting: at the beginning of the film, everyone entered Fayelane Town as part of a "tour group," following an archaeology student named "Fema Castro" as they investigated the secrets buried beneath the town.
This "Fema" was the film's heroine.
Her real reason for going to the town was to look for her missing parents. They were renowned archaeologists who had vanished without a trace after going to Fayelane Town a few months earlier.
During the Record Society's initial investigation, they had encountered Cultists in Forest National Park, north of the town. They belonged to an evil organization called the Lake God Cult, and had brutally hunted down all four of them.
Fortunately, all four were capable enough to escape in the end.
After that, they went their separate ways to look for useful clues, and each found several suspicious leads.
First was, of course, Black Lake, hidden in the depths of Forest National Park. The area was deserted, and the locals were afraid to go near it. Rumor had it that Black Lake was a gateway to Hell, with Demons lurking nearby, and that anyone who approached would meet a terrible end.
Second, besides tourism, the town's main industries were mining and lumber. Yet the two biggest businesses, Black Lake Coal Mine and Black Lake Sawmill, were often plagued by accidents, with workers dying gruesome deaths.
Third, the local TV station made a big show of promoting Fayelane Town as a scenic tourist destination, but it rained there all year round, and the sun rarely shone. What's more, several tourists had already gone missing before the tour group arrived.
Well, Mr. Stork and the others are certainly very professional...
Gilan slowly closed the copied documents, a thoughtful look on his face.
Still, to be safe, I should get in touch with the True Film Reel for Black Lake ahead of time and use Iridescence's Apocalyptic Dream to get a crucial warning.
With that thought, he got up and left his room.
It was already past ten at night, and the lights in the first-floor living room had long since gone out.
Click.
Gilan pressed the light switch on the wall beside the spiral staircase. Warm yellow light spilled from the trumpet-shaped lampshade, illuminating the stairs.
He made his way to the entrance of a room in one corner of the living room.
The room was supposed to be a storage room, but it had been renovated into the Record Society's secret screening room. Several projectors were kept inside, along with a screen and sofas.
But Gilan stopped at the door, taken aback.
Light was shining through the gap beneath the closed door, and he could faintly hear voices inside.
Who could be in there this late?
Suspicious, Gilan slowly leaned closer and pressed his ear against the door.
The voices inside gradually grew clearer:
"...Don't shoot! It's me, Ashton, your lover, Sylvian." A woman's voice rang out.
"Heh, I know it's you! I could smell your slutty scent the moment you stepped out of the elevator!" Another man's cold voice sounded.
"Giggle, you're still in such a hurry." The woman's voice grew increasingly seductive, punctuated by giggles. "Mmm, ah... be gentle! My husband's asleep upstairs! If he catches us, he'll burn you to ashes!"
"I'm not afraid. Heh... I love that slutty side of yours..."
As the sounds inside shifted into screams and sobs, Gilan's expression turned strange.
He'd thought one of the Assembly members was staying up late to study the True Film Reel, and had admired their dedication. But now it seemed someone was secretly watching an adult movie.
Gilan raised his hand to knock, but after a brief hesitation, lowered it again.
He turned to leave, planning to come back later.
A little over an hour later.
Gilan returned to the storage room in the first-floor living room. This time, there was no light or sound inside, and he finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
If he'd walked in on them, it would have been incredibly awkward.
Gilan didn't want to make an enemy of an Assembly member over something like this.
He pulled the handle and pushed the door open.
After he turned on the storage room light, a room of less than twenty square meters came into view. A projector sat on a stand by the left wall, facing the screen hung on the right wall.
A low sofa stood in the middle of the room. A filing cabinet was pressed against the wall farthest from the door, piled with documents and books. Several ordinary film reels were neatly arranged on top.
Gilan walked over and touched the sofa. It was still warm, confirming that someone had indeed been watching a movie there just before.
He looked up and suddenly noticed a film reel that hadn't been properly inserted into the filing cabinet. It was almost falling out, so he went over and picked it up.
Midnight Passion: The Legend of Mr. A #1.
Gilan glanced at the little label stuck to the lower-right corner of the reel and made a strange face.
"So that's the adult movie they were watching?"
He shook his head, uninterested, put it back in the cabinet, and rummaged through the other reels.
Unfortunately, Gilan didn't find the True Film Reel for Black Lake.
I suppose that makes sense. He sighed to himself. Something this important wouldn't be left lying around here.
Looks like tomorrow I'll have to try going with them first. Once I get my hands on the reel, I can use Iridescence's Apocalyptic Dream to learn something crucial.
Gilan's original plan had fallen through, so he left somewhat dejectedly.
But not long after he turned off the light and went upstairs, a tall figure hurried back into the living room and rushed into the storage room.
Click.
The light came on, revealing a beautiful woman's face.
Miss Seagull wore a loose, pale-purple silk nightgown that showed off her curvaceous figure, but her expression was slightly tense as she scanned the storage room.
Soon, she relaxed.
She hurried forward, bent down, and snatched up a damp handkerchief that had fallen beneath the sofa, quickly putting it away.
Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, the corner of her eye caught a film reel neatly slotted into the filing cabinet.
"Th-that must be where I put it myself, right?"
Miss Seagull's pretty face shifted, but she wasn't at all sure.
In the end, her cheeks flushed red. She gritted her teeth, turned off the light, and left, her retreating figure looking somewhat flustered.
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