Chapter 6

Randy drove the car towards the seaside.

Having a car made things much more convenient.

He let the speed increase, ensuring that the sound of the car could be heard by the nearby residents without disturbing them too much.

"It seems I'm truly lucky. You three have really solved my urgent problem. Being young and strong, you should help the lotus bloom five or six days earlier, right?"

"But it's quite a hassle. I still have to painstakingly bury you at the lotus planting site."

"Well, I can't help it. It's all for a stronger body."

"Damn it, I originally wanted to keep a low profile for these two weeks. Why do you always have to provoke me?"

As he spoke, Randy, still unsatisfied, pulled out the knife from Billy's throat and stabbed it into his chest a few more times.

"Forget it, I shouldn't be doing this. You did help me, so I shouldn't take it out on you. I apologize."

Randy opened an unopened can of beer from Billy and poured it over the front passenger seat and back seat, then placed the empty can between the seats.

"This is evidence that you were drunk driving and fell into the sea. In the vast ocean, it's normal for the bodies to be hard to find."

He didn't get out of the car when passing by his house but threw his backpack and phone at the doorstep and sped towards the shore.

Randy didn't drive the car off the cliff where he had planted the lotus. Instead, he chose a different coastal area, ensuring that the car's recovery by the police wouldn't disturb his lotus planting site.

"Ready to surf?"

The road ahead began to become desolate, with signs and guardrails appearing, but they were merely waterproof cardboard.

Randy easily dashed past them, aiming for a small dock built with wooden planks by the seaside. He continued speeding and finally drove the car into the water from a considerable distance.

"Glug glug."

The seawater immediately rushed into the car through the windows.

With his affinity for water, Randy emerged from the car window like a fish and, after the car was completely submerged, pulled out Carl and Robert from the back seat and rescued Billy from the front passenger seat.

After tying the three together with clothes and emerging from the water, Randy set off in the direction of the lotus planting site.

"Good thing I have an affinity for water; otherwise, not only would I worry about my stamina, but I'd also freeze to death."

After nearly an hour, Randy, his body completely frozen, finally dragged the three to the lotus planting site.

Randy brushed off the sand from the ceramic jar, which had started to crack, indicating that the seeds inside were beginning to sprout and absorb surrounding nutrients.

He stripped the three of their clothes, tied them to the nearby rocks, and buried parts of their bodies—arms or legs—in the sand.

Once the lotus spreads its roots, it will automatically seek out and absorb surrounding nutrients.

These three were only valuable for this.

Randy smiled and then surfaced.

"According to this progress, it will root within a night, and with these three as fertilizer, the true lotus will immediately enter its growth phase."

Everything was progressing well.

In two or three days, the disappearance of these three might attract the police's attention. They might search for information based on surveillance footage, including the smoking pipe and beer bottles in the car.

"It's such an obvious accident. Maybe they got too high or were drunk. In any case, they pushed the car to the maximum speed, and the residents by the roadside confirmed that they heard the car noise that night. They weren't paying attention and ended up driving into the sea."

It had nothing to do with him.

Even if they didn't find their bodies, they would likely assume they were swept into the sea during their struggle to save themselves.

After completing all the arrangements, exhaustion and weakness immediately spread throughout Randy's body.

"This weak body, this damned mortal flesh!"

Randy looked at his wrists, which were covered in numerous scratches.

Even with medication, they wouldn't heal quickly.

With only a week to gather the energy to summon the river god, and lacking any divine power, Randy had to sacrifice his own vitality. He also needed to refine his blood as nourishment for the lotus seed.

It was only through tonight's fight, with adrenaline surging, that he managed to hold on until now.

By the time Randy got home, it was already late at night. He picked up his backpack in the yard and quietly made his way inside.

He was exhausted.

He would probably feel sore and achy all over tomorrow.

"But it's worth it."

He quickly washed up and went to bed.

The Next Day

Randy woke up early despite his sore muscles. There were still tasks to be done.

For example, setting up a sensor at the cliff so he could monitor the lotus seed area from his phone.

Also, he needed to find a way to get his bicycle back from town.

As he was about to head downstairs, Randy glanced out the window and saw his neighbor, Carrie, standing at her door. She seemed to want to knock but hesitated, raising her hand and then letting it drop.

She took a deep breath, as if motivating herself, and raised her hand again, but then lowered it.

She was such a lovely girl.

"But why is she coming over?"

When Randy opened the door, he saw Carrie, flustered, quickly retract her hand.

As soon as the door opened, Carrie, like a startled rabbit, quickly lowered her head, her gaze darting around nervously.

She then handed over a phone.

"This is... I found it at your door... It has a family photo of you all."

Randy took a look and realized it was indeed his phone.

Reflecting on the previous night, he had been so tired that he had only paid attention to his backpack and had forgotten his phone.

"Oh, thank you."

Randy took the phone and glanced at Carrie.

She was dressed in very outdated clothes: a wrinkled checkered shirt with buttons fastened up to her neck, a blue wool sweater over it, and faded jeans.

This outfit might have suited a geek or a programmer better than a stylish girl like Carrie.

She kept her head lowered but would occasionally steal glances at Randy. Whenever she noticed his gaze, she would quickly look away.

"It's okay... I'll head to school now."

After saying this, she immediately turned away, but after taking a few steps, she stopped and cautiously turned her head to ask:

"Randy... Aren't you going to school?"

To Carrie, her neighbor seemed to be someone like herself—isolated and bullied, with no friends at school. Even though they had never interacted before, there was a sense of mutual sympathy.

Since the upheaval in Randy's family, he seemed to have changed.

Randy no longer went to school and had rarely been seen, and his health seemed to deteriorate day by day. This worried Carrie, so she bravely expressed her concern.

(Movie: Carrie.)