Chapter 25

After the deal was made, there was nothing much left to say, but before Pennywise left, he left Randy with a message: "I have a feeling that those guys are coming soon."

Randy didn't respond. He put away his axe and turned to leave, only to find he now had a bundle of balloons in his hand.

Whenever he wanted to contact Pennywise again, he could simply blow up a balloon with a written message.

By the time he reached home, it was already past ten.

Randy glanced over at Carrie's house next door. It was quiet; Carrie was probably released by now.

Once inside his room, Randy took out his phone. In a short span of time, Chris had sent several messages.

"A police officer came by asking about Billy. He, along with Carl and Robert, has been missing. It's been two days since Wednesday night."

"Don't worry, Boss. I didn't reveal anything. I told the officer that Billy and I broke up, and they didn't ask any more questions."

Randy wasn't concerned about this.

The three men's disappearance was handled flawlessly, and could easily be pinned on someone else with a little guidance.

Next, Randy sent Chris a new task.

"Spread a rumor about Carrie being a witch who brings disaster. Also, blame her for the town's missing persons cases. You can give her a nickname like Bloody Carrie."

Chris responded quickly after receiving the message.

"Got it. I'll say at the party tomorrow that Billy's disappearance is related to her. By Monday, everyone will know."

Carrie had already caused a commotion at school on Friday, so the scandal would probably spread quickly. All Chris needed to do was add a bit more fuel to the fire.

After making these arrangements, Randy packed away all sensitive items in his home.

Only then did he settle down to sleep.

The next day.

Randy got up early as usual. After washing up and having breakfast, he grabbed his fishing rod and other equipment, disguised himself as a fisherman, and rode his bike to the seaside.

He wanted to check on the state of the lotus plants as soon as possible.

Overnight, the underwater scene had changed dramatically.

The sea area, which had been quiet since the seeds were planted, was now densely covered with stems.

All of these had grown into lotus leaves.

These lotus leaves were fierce predators underwater, emitting strange scents to attract fish, and then enveloping and killing them.

After Randy entered the water, the leaves showed noticeable reactions. Several lotus leaves quickly approached him, but after reaching a certain range, they withdrew.

After all, they were nurtured from his own blood and flesh, so there wouldn't be a situation where they would be swept away by a flood.

Randy opened a bundle of curled-up lotus leaves. Inside was the corpse of a fish, and the edges of the leaves showed signs of withering.

This was normal. The first wave of nutrients was absorbed by the lotus leaves. These leaves would then capture other animals to absorb their vitality, which would be replenished to the roots, eventually producing lotus flowers that could be grafted into his body.

Even the most ordinary lotus flowers grow this way, first growing leaves that float on the water to absorb sunlight, and only flowering in the second year.

Randy checked the few nutrients he had prepared.

The earlier batch, including Carl and the others, had already been drained. Randy had also destroyed the corpses and hidden them on the seabed.

As for the remaining two corpses, they had already been inserted into the roots. Given the current trend, they might be drained within two days.

Even if too many nutrients were added at once, the true lotus would still need to line up for absorption.

The two young men should last until the lotus flowers bloom.

After confirming everything was in order, Randy resurfaced and dried his clothes on the shore.

In any case, by next Monday or Tuesday, he would be able to reshape his golden body!

This was already beyond the planned expectations.

But just as he turned to leave, a loud noise of something heavy falling came from behind.

"Boom."

Randy turned in confusion and saw a small boy's corpse on the pile of stones behind him, probably of elementary school age.

He looked up at the cliff.

There, stood a little girl in a red dress, holding a gold medal. Because she was backlit, Randy couldn't clearly see her expression.

A cliff fall, and there was a witness.

At such a crucial moment, just when the harvest was about to come, an unexpected incident occurred.

Randy's expression became tense. He approached the boy's body, which had fallen from nearly ten meters high and landed among the rocks. It was basically dead beyond recovery.

The police would soon intervene, and might even conduct a search of the area. And just ten meters away in the sea was the nearly mature lotus.

There was no time to catch the little girl and deal with her, unless he could fly.

Even if he killed her, the disappearance of two children would likely provoke a more intensive police search. If any clever detective suspected the two had fallen into the sea, it would only expose his lotus plants in the water!

Randy, with a terrified expression, looked up at the cliff: "Hey, little girl, what happened? Stay where you are, be careful not to fall down yourself."

After saying this seemingly concerned remark, Randy moved toward the side rock path, and the girl followed in that direction.

Randy didn't understand her intentions, but as long as she didn't turn around and run away, it was fine.

Soon, they met at the stone steps leading up and down.

Only then did Randy see the girl's face clearly.

Most people would be terrified to see the corpse of a child, let alone a child herself.

What Randy feared most was that she would be so startled that she would turn and run, and then start fabricating stories to avoid punishment.

However, she looked exceptionally calm, not at all like a child should be. Her gaze was indifferent as she looked down, and one hand was behind her back.

"What did you just see?"

The little girl spoke first, her gaze even somewhat harsh.

Randy sensed a faint, almost imperceptible malice coming from her.

Malice.

Randy sighed with relief and showed a relaxed smile.

"I saw a childish girl clumsily pushing her friend off the cliff, then trying to cover up her crime, and possibly even thinking of killing to silence witnesses. Let me guess, what's that thing behind your back? Planning to throw a rock at me when I get closer?"

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Despite her words, the girl's expression clearly showed panic.

Indeed, her skills were still lacking, and the truth was easily exposed.

Randy hadn't expected his casual guess to be correct.

It was quite surprising. Although he didn't know why they had quarreled, it was rare to resort to deadly force.

Unless this person was inherently evil.