Chapter 36: Scammed

Lately, weird stuff had been going down, and the knocking on the back door was making my heart race.

I rolled out of bed, slipped on my slippers, and shuffled towards the back door.

Surely, it had to be Fiona. Who else would be knocking at this ungodly hour?

The relentless cacophony of cicadas outside was driving me to the edge of my sanity.

Reaching the back door, I mustered the courage to call out, "Who's there?"

No answer.

"Fiona? Is that you?"

Still nothing.

I glanced over the wall towards the clinic's backyard. It was pitch black. Fiona must be asleep.

Maybe it was just a stray dog or cat bumping into the door?

My heart pounded in my chest as I shrugged, turning back towards the safety of my home. But as I took just a few steps, the knocking resumed, echoing through the eerie night.

Driven by a mix of fear and frustration, I whirled around and forcefully flung the door open.

It was pitch black outside, and no one was there.

"Who's messing with me? Show yourself!" I yelled.

The crickets and cicadas kept chirping, like they were laughing at me.

I squinted into the darkness, but there was nothing unusual.

"Don't let me catch you!" I muttered angrily and turned to go back inside. Just then, I saw a dark figure behind the door, standing with their back to me, combing their hair in the moonlight!

"Maria? Why are you here?"

As soon as I asked, I realized how dumb I sounded. If she were normal, she wouldn't be here!

"Are you asking me?" Maria replied in a creepy voice.

I took a step back, fumbling for my Sunstrike. "I'm not asking you. If you're fine, I'm going home!"

I wanted to call Ronald, wondering how Maria had even gotten here!

"Since you're out, don't leave..."

I turned to make the call, but the back door suddenly slammed shut with a "bang!"

"Don't go, stay with me..." she continued.

I froze. Something was definitely off!

I squinted to get a better look at the dark figure, seeing no signs of Sinwaft or anything like that!

I stepped closer, trying to get a better look, and suddenly laughed. "So, how do you want me to stay with you?"

"Then, stay with me and go to the ends of the earth!"

"Stop pretending!" I reached out and patted the figure's shoulder. "Fiona, you're scaring me in the middle of the night!"

"Who's scaring you?" The figure spun around abruptly, revealing a ghastly pale face!

I jumped back, and the figure giggled. "Silly Dennis, did I really scare you?"

The person took off the mask, and who else could it be but Fiona! I let out a sigh of relief. "Fiona, don't scare me like that. Besides, aren't you afraid of scaring me alone at night?"

"I'm not afraid!" Fiona looked up at the moon hanging in the sky. "Remember when we were in the orphanage? Whenever the weather was good, you'd watch the stars with me on the playground. Actually, I liked the darkness then, especially with you by my side."

The atmosphere suddenly felt a bit awkward, and my face turned red. "Fiona, did you need something?"

"Aren't you heading to Majestic City tomorrow? I don't know how long you'll be gone, so I wanted to give you something."

Fiona opened her palm, revealing a red string with a gold pendant. The round pendant had the word "peace" embedded in it, very delicate.

"I got this for you this morning. Wear it, and I hope you'll be safe and happy for the rest of your life."

She put the pendant around my neck, and for some reason, my nose tingled, almost making me cry.

"Alright, go rest! Contact me anytime if you need anything." Fiona waved at me and turned back.

I watched the lights in the clinic turn on and off before heading back to my own room.

The next morning, I arrived at Lorenzo's home at six o'clock. Alicia was still asleep, and Lorenzo and I had to shout and knock on the door to wake her up.

By the time I got in the car with my bags, it was already eight-thirty.

Two and a half hours later, our Mercedes G-Class parked in the Majestic City cultural market's parking lot.

Here, in the midst of the bustling crowd, stood a historically significant cultural market that had begun to take shape a century ago. Back then, it offered a wide array of cultural relics, calligraphy, antiques, and jade artifacts. However, amidst this richness, there had also been a proliferation of counterfeit goods. Those unfamiliar with the trade had often struggled to find genuine treasures in this bustling marketplace.

The three of us found a restaurant to have a simple lunch. Since the exchange meeting was in the evening, we wandered around the market.

I had to say, the various items in the market were very attractive, especially to someone like me who didn't know much. Everything looked like a treasure.

Lorenzo was interested in calligraphy and paintings and took Alicia to the art market, while I wandered around aimlessly but with interest.

Before long, Alicia called me. "Dennis, come quickly, my dad's been scammed!"