Chapter 80: The Missing Luola (Requesting Monthly Votes)

September 3rd.

When Roger finished his training and wiped all the sweat off with a towel, he glanced at his personal panel.

【Roger West】

【Title: Junior Investigator (negative effects from status: -35%, stranger friendliness +15%)】

【Occupation: Informer】

【Spirit Vision: 26】

【SAN Value: 18→21/25 (daily recovery: 3+1 points)】

【Status: Rift Edge → Unstable Cognition (your understanding of reality is distorted, but daily SAN recovery +1)】

【Physical Function: 12.5→12.55】

Thanks to the increased SAN recovery, Roger's SAN value was now nearly at its maximum.

And the gap between his SAN value and Spirit Vision was no longer as wide as it had been at first.

"Looks like I'll finally get a few days without nightmares," Roger sighed, feeling mentally clear and in excellent spirits.

"I hope this info mission isn't too horrifying."

Sometimes Roger doubted whether he was in a Cthulhu world or the real world, since all his memories told him this was a real modern society.

Yet everything he encountered during investigations made him unable to suppress his doubts.

Perhaps Meilijian was essentially no different from Cthulhu?

He could only think so, since compared to the lower classes, major banks, pharmaceuticals, and insurance giants truly were like ancient gods, impossible to gaze upon directly.

The more you learned, the lower your SAN value became.

In comparison, American TV shows and Hollywood movies were already heavily sanitized products.

If they weren't sanitized, the entire global audience would likely suffer a little Meilijian shock.

Dressed, Roger stepped out of the garage and drove off to continue his food delivery work for the day.

……

At six p. m., Roger drove to North Avenue 42nd Street.

But when he arrived, he found the area strangely familiar.

"Isn't this the neighborhood where Luola lives?"

Still the typical lower-class community, still a desolate street with not a soul in sight.

Roger carefully drove around the neighborhood, finding no trace whatsoever.

"Maybe Luola knows something," he suddenly remembered that Xiaer hadn't called him yet.

"Strange."

Roger dared not park recklessly; one hand on the steering wheel, he picked up his phone and dialed.

"Dial… dial… Roger!"

Xiaer's voice came through the receiver.

"Xiaer, is Luola at home?"

"I don't know…" Xiaer's tone was frantic: "I don't know where Luola went. She's not home, and her parents aren't either."

"What?" Roger frowned. "Has this ever happened before?"

Xiaer denied: "No, never. If she were going anywhere, she'd tell me in advance, and she never wants to be separated from me."

"Alright, I'll go check Luola's house again."

"I'm coming too, wait for me!"

"No problem."

After hanging up, Roger parked the car on the street in front of Luola's house.

Twenty minutes later, Xiaer ran over from afar.

Judging by her outfit today, she had no work—just a simple white T-shirt and jeans, looking noticeably fresher than before.

Roger got out of the car to meet her.

"Did you knock? Is anyone there?" Xiaer skipped small talk, asking urgently.

"Not yet."

Roger led her to the door: "Don't rush. Maybe they just left temporarily for some reason."

Xiaer shook her head: "No, I know Luola. No matter how big the emergency, she'd never leave me behind. Even if she died, she'd rather die with me."

Roger glanced at her in surprise—he hadn't realized their bond ran this deep.

"Alright." He walked to the door and knocked hard.

"Bang bang bang."

The door trembled under the blows, but there was no response from inside.

"Damn it! Where the hell is Luola! Could she have been kidnapped?" Xiaer clenched her fingers repeatedly.

Seeing this, Roger asked: "Aren't you carrying a key?"

"After I rescued Luola last time, they took my key back," Xiaer bit her nails: "Shit! Those damn parents!"

She clearly meant Luola's parents.

"Hmm." Roger glanced at the locked door. "Looks like we need another approach."

"What approach?" Xiaer looked up at him.

Five minutes later, the two climbed over the garden wall.

"The weeds here are almost up to my knees," Roger said, looking at the wild grass, faintly spotting small reptilian creatures lurking within.

"Luola's parents are scum," Xiaer sneered. "A whore and a drunkard. Since the day Luola was born, they've been hooked on enhancers."

"Do you know how Luola was born?"

Roger spread his hands, indicating he didn't know.

"Her fucking mother suddenly realized she was going into labor while dancing at a club, so she gave birth to her near a trash bin."

"What the fuck?" Roger had thought giving birth in a bathroom was already insane, but he hadn't expected someone to give birth while dancing at a club.

This was truly fucking free!

"That's right, Luola told me herself, and even that damn whore of a mother often brags about how tough she was when she gave birth to Luola."

Xiaer continued: "Trash child—that was Luola's nickname when she was little."

"On top of that, she's been addicted to drugs since childhood, so she only attended elementary school, then stayed home ever since."

"No wonder she's so obedient to her parents." Roger said, pushing open the window.

"So I really want those two lunatics dead." Xiaer watched the man climbing through the window and said coldly: "If I get the chance, I'd like to put two holes right in their foreheads."

Roger interrupted: "Looks like your wish has come true."

"What?" Xiaer froze.

"A murder happened here."

Hearing this, Xiaer hurriedly climbed in through the window.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the entire room in chaos—blood had dried everywhere on the floor, along with signs of a struggle.

Two long blood trails stretched from the kitchen deep into the living room.

"What the fuck, Luola! Luola!" Xiaer shouted in panic, rushing into the living room, only to find a man's corpse lying on the ground.

It was Luola's father.

He had been pierced clean through the neck by a sharp knife, his eyes wide open, dead but unblinking.

Luola and her whore mother were nowhere to be seen—they had apparently fled the murder scene.

Xiaer stood frozen in place.

But Roger, calm as ever, looked at the crime scene and said: "It seems Luola hid some things from you."