Chapter 48: First Encounter with Naoko
"Mr. Richardson, are you satisfied with this room?"
The manager carefully observed Marcus's expression.
"Yeah, it's fine, this one will do." Marcus wasn't too picky, though he would've preferred a regular bed.
After the manager left, Marcus took off his leather jacket and hung it on the coat rack, then sat on the bed.
It was late; he'd already encountered two supernatural entities since arriving, so he needed a good rest. He could relax by watching TV.
He turned on the TV and switched to the news channel. The female anchor was reporting on a series of minor tremors in the area. Typical for this region; small earthquakes happened all the time.
Marcus watched for a while, then turned off the TV and went to sleep, leaving the lights on.
After about three hours, he heard a sound.
The TV suddenly turned on by itself, and the female anchor, dressed in a blazer, was still reporting the news.
"Good evening viewers, this is our latest broadcast. At 1:00 AM on the 8th, a missing person case occurred on Maple Street. A young man from room 203 of the Riverside Inn mysteriously disappeared. The local police department is currently investigating."
"This is video footage found at the scene of the disappearance. Please watch carefully. A reward will be given for any relevant clues."
After the female host finished speaking, the television screen shifted, showing a scene from Marcus's room.
It was indeed 1:00 AM on the 8th!
The video even showed his leather jacket hanging on the coat rack—they were definitely filming him!
Marcus jumped up. Based on the angle of the video, he realized whoever was filming was at the dresser.
He turned his head and saw that the drawer was half-open, but it was pitch black inside; he couldn't see anything.
"Strike first!"
Marcus activated his psychic power, channeling it to his right arm, and lunged forward, smashing the dresser with a single punch. Fragments of wood scattered everywhere, but nothing was inside.
The video footage disappeared, and the female host appeared on the television screen. A slow smile crept onto her lips, but her eyes grew increasingly malevolent, and she kept repeating her last sentence.
"I'll get a reward, I'll get a reward, I will!"
Marcus's anger flared up. This was never going to end! He strode over and kicked the television screen, shattering it with a loud crash. A flash of white light appeared on the screen, followed by sparks flying everywhere.
Where was it?
Marcus looked around.
Laughter echoed all around him, seemingly reverberating from every corner of the room.
He turned and grabbed his jacket, putting it on as he walked towards the door. He couldn't stay in this haunted place; he couldn't remain in this supernatural territory.
A twisted, pale hand emerged from a crack in the wall beside the door, twisting the doorknob and locking it, preventing Marcus from leaving.
Found you!
Marcus's eyes lit up when he saw the spectral hand. He strode forward, and with a thought, the bladed gauntlet—similar to Freddy's glove—which he had acquired at the Crossroads, appeared on his right hand.
He instantly put on the gauntlet, swung his clawed hand, and tore a chunk of the drywall behind the door.
A white shadow quickly slid along the wall and disappeared.
Hiding?
"Then let the game of hide-and-seek begin!"
Marcus decisively retracted his clawed gauntlet, revealing a morning star mace in his hand. The three-foot-long mace consisted of an ornately carved handle and a spiked, flanged hammerhead.
This was a weapon he'd acquired from a dealer at the Crossroads, not only incredibly powerful when wielded, but capable of denting armor even with a full swing from an ordinary person.
More importantly, the handle had a rotating switch, connecting the hammerhead to the handle with a ten-foot-long chain; twisting it transformed it into a flail.
He hammered away at the drywall, each blow cracking a large section of the wall, the white figure shrinking and hiding piece by piece.
"Where are you? I'm coming to find you!"
The continuous hammering pounded throughout the room until only the wardrobe remained, which the white figure then entered.
"Hehehe, found you!"
Marcus sneered.
This hammer blow removed 20% of the muscle protection restrictions!
The hammer fell, and the wardrobe shattered into countless fragments like foam.
A white figure rolled to the ground, then spread out like a blanket, rushing towards Marcus.
Above the blanket was a distorted, grotesque face, the size of a tablecloth, flat as paper, as if a human head had been crushed by a steamroller; its fist-sized eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
Marcus withdrew his spiked mace. Facing this blanket-like entity, he changed his fist to a palm, unleashing a burst of power.
His palm, imbued with psychic energy, was like a sharp blade, ready to cleave through any obstacle in its path.
Riiip! The white figure was torn in two like paper, the two halves lunging at Marcus.
Marcus grabbed one end of the white figure, flung it towards the other, binding them together, twisting them into a coiled rope.
Then he slammed it to the ground, his right knee touching the floor, his left hand supporting his body.
His right fist pounded the ground ten times with the force of a storm, reducing it to ashes.
A bowl-sized dent appeared in the wooden floor, and the entire room looked like it had been hit by a grenade.
Marcus got up, straightened his wrinkled jacket, and turned to leave.
His peaceful rest had been disturbed.
Was this whole place cursed? So many supernatural things were roaming around, killing people.
Passing through the hallway, he saw that the door to room 202 was ajar, clearly empty. Marcus went to the manager's room on the first floor and knocked, but there was no response.
He kicked the door open, furious, suspecting the manager had deliberately given him room 203.
The door opened, the room was dark, and there was no response. Marcus pressed the light switch.
The manager was already tangled up with the bedsheet, a twisted mess!
Marcus sighed; it seemed he had misjudged the manager.
Such a nice sheet, so clean and white, now it was definitely ruined and couldn't be salvaged.
This 'Riverside Inn' was no longer an option; he needed to find another motel.
Marcus stepped out onto the street. At this hour, apart from a few bars with neon lights, almost everything else was closed.
The entire street was quiet and deserted.
After taking only two steps, his keen ears picked up a faint whimpering sound coming from a nearby dumpster.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Marcus thought, somewhat exasperated. "Here we go again!"
He cautiously lightened his footsteps, intending to leave first; he really didn't want to deal with this.
Then, the dumpster lid made a sound of being opened.
"Sir, please wait! Help me! Can you help me? A man is trying to kill me!"
"Could you take me to the police station? Please!" a gentle, delicate, yet panicked voice said.
"Here we go again!"
Marcus helplessly channeled his psychic energy into his right arm, his body poised for action, and glanced sideways.
A fair-skinned girl with delicate and lovely features was struggling to crawl out of the dumpster, her eyes filled with tears and fear.
She didn't have a beauty mark near her eye, so it couldn't be Tomie.
The girl was crawling with great difficulty because she only had one leg; the other had been amputated at the knee, and she was using crutches.
Seeing that it was indeed a real person, Marcus breathed a sigh of relief, but he still prepared to leave. Who knew what powerful supernatural influence this woman might be possessed by?
"That man is a psycho; he's looking for me everywhere!"
(End of Chapter)
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