Preparation

Old Jerry was startled to see Gilan return carrying shopping bags and a basket of flowers.

But soon, the wrinkles on his aged face bloomed like chrysanthemums, revealing a meaningful smile as he spoke:

"Miss Sparrow enjoys gardening; I trust she will appreciate your gift, sir."

"Er." Gilan stopped at the foot of the stairs, momentarily stunned. "I bought these for myself."

However, Old Jerry seemed to see right through his ruse, shaking his head with a chuckle before turning toward the kitchen to begin preparing the midday meal.

Faintly, his muttering could still be heard:

"Who buys flowers for themselves... young people these days are just too shy."

Gilan raised an eyebrow, but too lazy to explain, he headed straight up to the third floor and returned to his room.

He sorted his purchases into categories, folded them neatly, and placed them in his wardrobe. He then took the money from the iron box and tucked it all into his newly purchased leather wallet to carry with him.

Night fell.

Old Jerry delivered the documents Mr. Stork had copied, which contained intelligence regarding Black Lake.

Gilan sat alone in his room, flipping through them.

The Record Society had not explored Black Lake deeply, so there was not much valuable information.

However, it was worth noting that at the beginning of the film, the group would enter Fayelane Town as a "tour group," following a college student from the archaeology department named Fema Castro to uncover the secrets buried deep within the town.

This "Fema" was the film's female lead.

Her true purpose in visiting the town was to find her missing parents. They were famous archaeologists who had vanished without a trace after traveling to Fayelane Town several months prior.

During the Record Society's last preliminary probe, they encountered cultists in the Forest National Park north of the town. It was an evil organization known as the Lake God Cult; they were ruthless and launched a pursuit against the four of them.

Fortunately, their strength was not lacking, and they managed to escape in the end.

Since then, the four had each gone out to search for useful clues, and they had obtained several points of suspicion.

First, naturally, was the "Black Lake" hidden in the deepest part of the Forest National Park. It was desolate and rarely visited, and the local residents dared not approach it. Rumor had it that the Black Lake was a gateway to hell, haunted by demons, and that anyone who drew near would meet a grim end.

Second, aside from tourism, the town's pillar industries were mining and logging, but the two largest operations, the Black Lake Coal Mine and the Black Lake Sawmill, frequently suffered accidents where workers died tragically.

Third, the local television station heavily promoted Fayelane Town as a beautiful tourist destination, yet it was perpetually overcast and rainy, with the sun rarely seen. Furthermore, several cases of missing tourists had occurred even before the "tour group" arrived.

Hmm, it seems Mr. Stork and his associates are quite professional...

Gilan slowly closed the copied documents, a thoughtful expression on his face.

But to be safe, it would be better to contact the real film reel of Black Lake in advance and obtain a key warning through the apocalypse dream of "Iridescence."

Thinking this, he rose and walked out of the room.

It was already past ten o'clock at night, and the lights in the first-floor living room had long since been extinguished.

Click.

Gilan casually pressed the light switch on the wall of the spiral staircase. Warm yellow light filtered through the trumpet-shaped lampshade, illuminating the stairs.

He made his way to a room in the corner of the living room.

This room was a utility closet, but it had actually been renovated into a secret screening room for the Record Society, housing several projectors along with the corresponding screens and sofas.

However, Gilan stopped at the door, taken aback.

Light was leaking from beneath the tightly closed door, and the faint sound of voices drifted from within.

It's so late, who could be in there?

Suspicion arose in Gilan's mind; he leaned in slowly and pressed his ear against the door.

Suddenly, the voices inside became clear:

"...Don't shoot! It's me, Ashton, your lover, Sylvian." A woman's voice came through.

"Heh, I know it's you! The moment you stepped out of the elevator, I smelled your stench!" Another man's cold voice rang out.

"Giggle, you're still so impatient." The woman's voice grew increasingly seductive, followed by a series of light laughs. "Mm, mmm, be gentle! My husband is sleeping upstairs! If he finds out, he'll burn you to ashes!"

"I'm not afraid, heh... I just love how wanton you are..."

As the sounds inside gradually turned into screams and cries, Gilan's expression turned peculiar.

He had originally assumed one of the society members was studying the "real film" late into the night and had felt a sense of admiration, but as it turned out, it seemed someone was secretly watching a blue movie.

Gilan raised his hand to knock, but after a moment of hesitation, he lowered it.

He turned and left, intending to come back later.

Over an hour later.

Gilan returned to the utility room door in the first-floor living room. This time, the light and noise were gone, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

If he had walked in on them, the situation would have been incredibly awkward.

Gilan had no desire to antagonize members of the Society over such a trivial matter.

He pulled the handle and pushed the door open.

After turning on the utility room light, a room of less than twenty square meters came into view. A projector sat on a stand in the corner against the left wall, aimed directly at a screen hanging on the opposite wall.

In the center of the room was a low sofa, and a filing cabinet stood against the wall furthest from the door, topped with many neatly arranged documents, books, and several ordinary film reels.

Gilan walked over and reached out to touch the sofa; it was still warm, indicating that someone had indeed been watching a movie here just moments ago.

He looked up and suddenly noticed a film reel on the cabinet that hadn't been slotted in properly and was on the verge of falling, so he stepped forward to pick it up.

"Midnight Thrills: The Legend of Mr. A #1."

Gilan glanced at the small label on the bottom right corner of the reel, his expression turning peculiar.

"So this is the little movie that was playing?"

He shook his head, having no interest in watching it, and slotted it back onto the cabinet before rummaging through the other reels.

Unfortunately, Gilan did not find the actual reel for Black Lake.

Of course, he sighed inwardly. Something that important wouldn't just be left lying around here.

It seems I'll have to try acting with them tomorrow, and once I get my hands on the film reels later, I can use the "Iridescence" apocalypse dream to obtain the key information.

Gilan's original plan had fallen through, so he had no choice but to leave, feeling rather dejected.

However, not long after he turned off the light and went upstairs, a tall figure hurried back into the living room and made a beeline for the utility room.

Click.

The light flickered on, illuminating a lady's lovely face.

Miss Seagull, with her ear-length bob, was wearing a loose, pale purple silk robe that accentuated her curvaceous silhouette. Her expression was slightly tense as her gaze swept across the utility room.

Soon, her face relaxed.

She stepped forward quickly, bent down, snatched up a wet handkerchief that had fallen under the sofa, and hurriedly tucked it away.

Just as she let out a sigh of relief, her peripheral vision suddenly caught a film reel on the side of the cabinet, slotted perfectly into place.

"That... that must have been me who put it back, right?"

Miss Seagull's pretty face changed slightly, though she felt uncertain inside.

In the end, her cheeks flushed red, and she gritted her teeth before turning off the light and leaving, her retreating figure looking somewhat flustered.

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