Chapter 166: The Dark Home [Part-2]
Inside the dark home, Alen sat there stiffly, looking at the man who wore the exact same warm smile, waiting for him to introduce himself. After calming himself again, he answered him once more, wearing a confident look, without explicitly explaining his whereabouts this time.
"I am Alen, I came here from the outer city."
The man nodded as he leaned back on the couch and looked at him, waiting.
Alen finally sighed in his mind as he continued.
"I came here because I came to meet your neighbor, but they’re not available at home..."
The man looked surprised and nodded slowly.
"Who did you come to meet?..."
"The flat beside you..."
The man’s face went blank as he stared at him for a few seconds. His glowing red eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Who are you?... What do you want from us?..."
Alen’s shoulders stiffened as he didn’t understand what wrong he had said to make the man react like that.
"Did something happen?..."
*CLATTER!*
The plate of refreshments fell hard onto the ground, shattering to pieces as the woman glared at him from the kitchen.
"Get out of here! I don’t want any criminals coming from that house!"
Before Alen could even react, his eyes blurred again. A dizzying wave hit him, and he came back again to the exact same moment as the man sat in front of him calmly.
"So what is your name, young man? What brought you here today?"
A massive headache could be felt by him as he looked at them.
He immediately checked how much time was left before the trial ended.
[Time Left: 48 min]
Alen sighed internally. It seems the countdown was still working the exact same, even though he was getting regressed back in time again and again.
He didn’t know what he had to do, or what twisted game he had to play in order to kill them.
"I am Alen, a police officer. Recently there have been many crimes around this area, so my team and I came to inform every family to remain alert. I am sorry if I intrude on your peaceful time?..."
The man looked at him, surprised, but he quickly calmed down as Alen reassured him with his polite words.
"Oh, okay sir. Thank you for coming here to inform us... Wife, are you done? The officer wants to tell us something, if you’re finished, come here..."
"Okay, honey, I’m just finished..."
The woman walked out of the kitchen as she brought the fresh refreshments and hot tea for them. She placed it neatly in front of him and sat beside her husband.
"Okay, officer, can you tell us what you want to talk about?..."
The children also stood up and started to get closer to their parents. They climbed onto them while staring at Alen with their hollow, red eyes.
Alen sighed internally as he didn’t know what he should tell them about. He used to watch crime shows back in the day, but due to his blurring memories, he had forgotten the stories of the shows he used to watch. He had absolutely no knowledge of what to do in such a bizarre situation. But, calming his mind, he looked at them with false confidence and, straightening his back, he prepared to spill shit from his mouth.
"Well, as you both may already know, crimes these days have been increasing day by day. Kidnapping, theft, murder, hit-and-runs, cybercrime, and many other crimes have become quite familiar nowadays. And all of this is because of people’s unawareness about how to remain alert in every situation..."
Both the man and woman straightened their backs as they leaned forward, eager to know more from him. Their hands remained fiercely protective over their children as they didn’t want to lose them, depicting that they loved their children from the bottom of their hearts.
Alen looked at them while cursing himself in his mind as he didn’t know what more he should spit out now. They wanted to listen to his safety instructions, but what on earth should he instruct them?
’Sigh...’
"Well, I will tell you about a few instructions. Of course, it’s not mandatory to follow them exactly, as you can find your own methods to remain alert, but you should just listen to get some common knowledge..."
"First, whenever you go out with your children, then lock the door, and also remain alert that someone suspicious is not staring at you or your house at odd times. The second thing, don’t let your children roam around alone. At least not alone. Make sure to teach them basic knowledge that they shouldn’t eat any food given by someone unknown, and they shouldn’t follow such a person without telling you..."
"Third thing, don’t get into any arguments with unknown people who seem particularly suspicious or drunk. That guy might murder you because of pure rage, so be aware of that. If you feel something is wrong, you can go to some safe place or call the police. Fourth thing, if any woman is strolling outside, always remain vigilant that someone is not following you around with bad intentions. If you feel like someone is, then always keep a pepper spray with you, or make sure to walk through the public road and avoid taking the shortcut alleyways at night. You can also dial the police when you feel you can’t escape..."
"Fifth, always remain vigilant of your surroundings. Make sure to follow the traffic rules. Even if you’re walking while following them, take a few glances and remain aware of passing vehicles. Whatever can happen in the street, so always remain cautious. Sixth and last, make sure not to share your contact information or personal ID with others, and also make sure to avoid giving your phone to an unknown person. Your bank account might get emptied to nil by that... That is the information..."
Both the man and woman stared at him. They turned to glance back at each other, and then looked at him, thoroughly confused.
"But that is the basic knowledge we already know. Is there no new information you wanted to share?..."
Alen felt deeply embarrassed at their words. He felt like burying himself inside the floor. He already knew what he told them was very basic information given to normal citizens, and he was just repeating the same thing to buy time.
"No, but nowadays people are forgetting those basic things and becoming leisurely. Of course, I’m not suggesting that you are one of them, but it’s our work to provide and alert the people. Listening or ignoring is your work..."
The man nodded calmly.
"Yeah, you’re right. Many people forget about these basic rules. If they aren’t repeatedly told again, they will forget about them. We appreciate you coming here to tell us, thank you... You can take the refreshments, sir, before going..."
Alen felt even more embarrassed at their polite tone. Here he was actively planning to kill them, and they were there serving him like he was their actual, honored guest. How could he kill such polite people? Shaking his head internally, he took the refreshments and ate one. And as always, he felt disgusted just by eating a few cookies. He sighed internally as he remembered the warm food made by Lyris yesterday. He was missing her. No, actually, he was missing the food made by her.
Just as the refreshments were over and he had no more appetite for eating, a sudden thought came into his mind.
He quietly imbued a dark magic spell inside the hot tea, poisoning the liquid. He gave them a warm smile while feeling like he really had become a vicious scum.
"Sorry, I don’t want to drink tea. I think you should try it..."
He pushed the tea cup away toward them.
The man looked surprised but nodded as he picked up the tea cup and drank the tea. As he drank, he suddenly stared at the cup for a few seconds. It slipped from his grip and fell down onto the floor. Blood started to leak from the corner of his mouth as the corruption took effect. He glared viciously at Alen.
Just as Alen thought that his plan was successful, his eyes suddenly blurred again. The dizzying wave crashed over him, and he was instantly regressed back to the exact same moment, facing the exact same words.
"So what is your name, young man? What brought you here today?"