How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 65 - Ah, it wasn't allergies last time. He's shy. (3)
The giant acted as if he was deaf. He expressionlessly dragged the bloody saw and slowly walked towards Henry.
In a flash, countless thoughts flashed through Henry's mind. Perhaps, this wasn't a performance. Polly Clermont wasn't a circus manager, but a brutal serial killer.
This type of case wasn't uncommon. A serial killer set a trap, gathered up unsuspecting victims, and went on a gleeful murder spree.
What other plausible explanation could there be for the realistic blood and flesh and the woman's painful appearance? How could anyone show such a tortured expression if she wasn't experiencing it?
And that strange feeling of being watched… These people must have been waiting to kill him for a long time.
Henry didn't want to show his panic. He reached for his holster. He wanted to draw his gun and warn the giant to stop - but his gun had been removed before he entered the pub!
At the time, when he was told that he couldn't carry any weapon, he didn't think anything of it. He slipped his gun from his holster, put it aside, and left it under the watch of Polly Clermont's attendant.
Thinking about it now, that had to be premeditated.
As the giant's tall and bulky figure got increasingly close, Henry could no longer remain calm. He fled.
However, this was a small pub with short and narrow hallways. In less than a moment, he had run into a dead end.
The giant was alarmingly tall. He had to hunch to move forward in the hallway.
The most terrifying thing was the creepy feeling of being watched reappeared.
Paranoia overtook Henry. He was already standing at the end of the hallway with a wall behind him. How could he still feel like he was being watched by an unseeable stalker?
Unless - the person watching him was inside the wall.
A pair of strong hands seemed to reach out from the wall and clamp down on his sides.
Henry felt as if his blood had turned to ice. He couldn't catch a breath as if he had stepped onto empty air and fell into a deep, freezing pool.
Why were hands sticking out from the wall?
The giant had caught up to him and was slowly raising the saw.
Warm liquid was dripping onto Henry's face. That woman's blood. This wasn't fake. There were even bloody bone fragments stuck on the saw's blade.
So real, how could this be fake?
Henry was shrouded in fear. His eyes were wide, his chest was rapidly spasming, and his wheezing breaths were rapid and shrill. His body softened. He fainted.
When Bo Li saw that Henry was about to faint, she pulled the other two police officers over so that they could watch the process from a bystander's perspective.
When viewed from another angle, this scene showed flaws.
The giant's expression was a bit wooden, and Emily's expression was a touch too exaggerated, but Henry had been implanted with psychological hints. He kept retreating in horror until his back hit the wall, and he fainted.
The two police officers looked at each other with uncertainty. They didn't expect that the bossy and overly aggressive Henry could be so easily frightened.
Bo Li quietly said, "This has nothing to do with us… You saw it too, the actors didn't even touch him."
"Indeed," an officer said, "it's because Henry was too timid and fainted from fright."
"But, it's true that your show possesses certain risks," the other officer said, "We'll have to warn the city residents in the newspaper that those with poor psychological endurance shouldn't see this show. Otherwise, they'll have to bear the consequences at their own risk… Can you accept that?"
Bo Li was over the moon when she heard these words and enthusiastically hugged the police officer.
It was obvious that this police officer didn't understand reverse psychology or advertising language based on that persuasion technique. For example, "Watch at your own discretion", "Content warning, not suitable for all audiences", "Timid people are advised to close the video immediately", etc.
Bo Li could already guess the uproar that would happen once the police officer publicly issued this statement.
She could only pretend to say with regret, "... I understand your concern. It has to be done. I'm very sorry. I didn't know it would turn out like this."
The two police officers said a few words to comfort her before carrying away the unconscious Henry.
The lighting was restored to normal on the pub's second floor.
Bo Li praised every actor, especially Emily. She praised her excellent acting skills, how she was good at drawing Henry into the scene, and how she was born to act.
Emily had been immersed in her grief and unable to extract herself from it, but as she acted out that moment from her life that had almost happened and scared a "normal person", she felt lighter. It was as if she had let go of a heavy burden. Performing in the haunted house felt cathartic.
She didn't forget that all this was given to her by Polly Clermont.
Emily wasn't good at expressing herself, but she was a grateful person. She tightly hugged Bo Li and softly said, "Thank you."
Theodore nodded at Bo Li. "Thank you."
Bo Li had never let down her guard around him and didn't have much hope for his performance. It was a pleasant surprise that his performance was astonishing enough to cause Henry to faint, so she also generously heaped praises on him.
After the actors left, Mrs. Freeman came over and started cleaning the blood on the ground.
Bo Li chatted with Mrs. Freeman for a bit before bidding her good night and walking towards the pub's entrance.
When she was halfway to the entrance, a black-gloved hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her through a trapdoor.
Erik.
He hadn't come near her since that day.
Compared to the beginning, his aura had changed a lot. He no longer always smelled of sweat and blood nor the singular scent of soap. There was the faint scent of cologne on his collar tonight.
Bo Li paused, stood on her tiptoes, and went closer to sniff it.
It really was cologne. The scent he chose matched his temperament. It was dry like cypress, dangerous like a knife's edge, and burning with intense bitterness.
He grabbed her chin and turned her face away from him. His breathing was rapid and uneven like he was suppressing his emotions.
Bo Li couldn't figure out what he was thinking.
He dragged her into an alcove, but wouldn't allow her to get closer.
He sprayed cologne on himself, but wouldn't allow her to get closer to smell it.
She pondered for a moment, and an idea popped up.
… Could it be that he wanted to hear praise from her?
Bo Li probingly said, "... Sorry, I forgot to say you were amazing today. Without you, our show wouldn't be so successful."
He covered her eyes with his black-gloved hands in response.
The last thing she saw was his cold, sharp jaw under the white mask as well as his red neck and ears. It looked like rashes.
For a moment, there was only one thought in Bo Li's mind. Ah, it wasn't allergies last time. He's shy.