Chapter 11

"That's enough, Chris."

Sussie, standing nearby, couldn't bear to watch any longer and pulled on Chris's arm.

"Classes are about to start; we should head to the classroom."

Chris frowned, visibly displeased by her friend's interruption. This was her moment to assert her dominance.

"When have we ever been on time for class?"

Sussie still felt it was too much. Previously, Chris's bullying had only been about isolation, but now, with the kind of jokes she was making, it was bordering on illegal and criminal behavior.

So, Sussie tried to persuade her.

"Let's just go to class. It's not good to linger here with so many people gathering at the school gate."

Chris was very dissatisfied with her friend's attitude and felt slighted. However, thinking about Sussie's family background and her popular boyfriend at school, she reluctantly agreed.

"Fine."

But agreeing not to cause trouble now didn't mean the bullying was over.

Chris gave one last threat to Carrie: "Tonight, I'll have Billy take you to the pig farm. This isn't a joke. Unless you plan to wait until the middle of the night to come out."

After saying this, she swayed her hips and walked towards the school.

Sussie sighed helplessly, glanced at Carrie, and didn't say anything more.

After Chris and Sussie entered the school, Carrie slowly pushed her cart and followed.

Yet, the mocking voices around her persisted. The laughter that had once been something Carrie had grown used to now seemed especially grating.

It was as if flames were burning through her ears and into her brain. Carrie timidly raised her eyes.

Other female classmates pointed and whispered about her, while a few male classmates made lewd gestures.

"Hey, Carrie, want to become a real woman?"

"We can help you with that."

Carrie quickly lowered her head, pushing her cart into the school.

"She does look pretty hot, doesn't she?"

"Forget it, do you want to be considered a freak too?"

"Just playing around…"

Once Carrie had walked away, a few male students, hiding in an alley, smoked cigarettes. One of them, Rick, looked back longingly at Carrie's retreating figure.

As the town's premier school, it was normal to have a range of student qualities. As long as they didn't do drugs or commit shootings in the classroom, they were rated as excellent.

"Should we…"

Rick, with a mischievous grin, suggested something, but his words were interrupted by another companion with a buzz cut.

"Rick."

The buzz-cut friend pointed to the alley behind them, indicating that there were still outsiders around.

Rick approached the alley and saw a black-haired figure with a stern face in the shadows.

"Isn't this another freak from our class? What's he doing at school?"

Rick put out his cigarette. "Forget it, don't worry about him. He's as mute as a fish at school and wouldn't have the guts to report what we just said."

After giving a warning glance at Randy, he and his companions left.

Randy, hidden in the shadows, had observed everything that happened. However, he did not intervene or offer any help.

"Chris, Billy's girlfriend."

Randy didn't expect it to be such a coincidence.

Looking at the group of hormonally charged boys, Randy had some thoughts in mind.

"Just right, I still need a lot of nutrients for my garden."

But it wasn't the right time to act yet.

Randy turned and left the school gate.

He continued to take the secluded paths, eventually arriving at the back alley behind the supermarket.

After putting on a show, limping in front of the supermarket's surveillance camera, he mounted his bicycle and left.

Once home, Randy set up the sensor device first, then went to the shore to place it on the reef.

This way, he could remotely monitor the situation from his phone.

Then, Randy dove into the water.

Over the course of one night, the ceramic pot had already sprouted two branches.

The water's movement made the branches sway.

They matured quickly.

Randy took another close look at the three corpses. The parts buried in the soil had already developed roots.

This meant the lotus was beginning to expand and absorb nutrients.

At this rate, in another day or two, they would become mummies.

By then, he would need to consider the next batch of nutrients.

Randy carefully checked the surrounding environment.

It seemed to have formed a vacuum zone, with no fish or shrimp nearby. This was even better, as the roots could grow better.

After confirming there were no issues, Randy resurfaced.

He didn't stay long, as this was a seaside area, and even though it was still a workday, there was always a chance of vacationers arriving.

Once back home, it wasn't long before the supermarket delivery person arrived.

Coincidentally, the delivery person was the same manager who had witnessed the confrontation yesterday.

"Well, it's you."

The manager remembered Randy well. "Did you get beaten up after you left yesterday?"

"Yes, I was severely beaten, knocked out with one punch. I lay in the alley next to the supermarket all night and only woke up this morning."

Randy followed along with his story.

"Oh, that's truly pitiful. I've always said that reasoning doesn't work."

The manager had a 'just as I expected' expression.

"As someone who's been through it, I advise you to look for reasons within yourself if you're always being bullied. Don't just stay at home… you need to exercise and go out more…"

Randy ignored the manager's ramblings, checked the list, and signed for the delivery.

"With my build, I'm afraid I might have a heart attack from exercising."

"Oh?"

The manager looked him up and down and then shrugged in agreement.

"In that case, I suggest you call the police."

"There's no need to call the police. I'm worried their revenge would be even more crazed."

Randy played the victim's role to perfection.

"Alright then, I can only wish you good luck. From what I know, their parents don't really care about them…"

The manager shrugged and, after helping to deliver the goods to the room, left.

Randy returned to his room.

With the preparatory work done, things would be much easier from now on.

Collecting nutrients and waiting for the true lotus to bloom.

Recalling the morning's events, Randy took out his phone and searched for information about the town's history.

He quickly found records of child disappearances in the town.

Sure enough, it had been 27 years since the last case of disappearances, and the dormant Pennywise was about to act again.

Randy also checked other news in the vicinity.

"What the hell? There's a Silent Hill to the north?"

He was familiar with this big IP. He then expanded his search to the entire country, focusing on supernatural elements.

He found a lot of useful information.

"Crystal Lake in the West, the hockey mask killer? Elm Street's nightmares? Texas Chainsaw Massacre? And the Warrens from Connecticut?"

"Alright, although this couple exists in reality, but…"

Randy clicked on the pictures of the people.

As expected, they were the familiar faces of actors.

It seemed that the world's pattern was not limited to Stephen King but involved various film and TV combinations, with different monsters or unusual people scattered across the country.

Randy also checked Stark Industries and Vought Company.

"Great, none of these are present."

It seemed to be limited to horror movies after all.