"You want to eat my cooking?" Richard was baffled when he received the call at home. From Hopper's helpless tone, he immediately realized who actually wanted to eat his food. He laughed, "It seems my cooking left a good impression during the last gathering. If you want to eat, no problem. Just come to my place tomorrow at five in the afternoon to pick it up."
"Tell me what ingredients you need, and I'll buy them." Chief Hopper wiped his sweaty forehead on the other end, feeling a bit helpless. Considering Richard was an orphan with no stable source of income, he couldn't let Richard bear the expense.
Richard readily agreed and listed the necessary ingredients one by one for Chief Hopper to record.
The next day was the weekend. As the assistant director of the film, Richard had to go along, but his presence felt incredibly frustrating to the others.
While everyone was working hard on the shoot, Richard was a heartless spectator, just standing aside and watching, doing nothing. He carried a large backpack, its contents unknown, but food was definitely the main item. He ate incessantly, his mouth never stopping.
When filming first started, everyone seemed quite stiff and a bit awkward, but as it progressed, they gradually got into the groove and performed better and better. Although they weren't necessarily acting prodigies, they were at least immersed in their roles. A mockumentary didn't demand much acting skill anyway, so it was passable and didn't feel immersion-breaking.
By the end of the day, the progress was remarkable!
Jonathan looked at the rented disk recorder in his hand, feeling uneasy. "Is... is this really okay? Aren't we filming a bit too fast?"
"Isn't faster better? The sooner we wrap up, the sooner Steve, our big benefactor, can treat us to a wrap party dinner," Richard said with a smile.
Steve crossed his arms and said, "I'll provide the money, you provide the effort. Everyone says you're a great cook. When we wrap up, I'll pay for the groceries, and you'll make a feast to reward everyone."
Richard looked at Steve in surprise and laughed, "Fine, just don't let your wallet hurt too much. I'll show you all what 'glowing cuisine' looks like then."
"What kind of cuisine can glow?" Jonathan was puzzled.
"It's got magic in it!" Eddie chuckled.
"Maybe it's stir-fried lightbulbs," Robin joined in the teasing.
"Hahaha..."
On the forest path home, there was a joyful atmosphere... Around 5:22 PM, Chief Hopper finally arrived to pick up the meal.
Chief Hopper said breathlessly, "Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?"
"It's fine. Everything's in the thermal containers, and the bag is insulated too. It'll stay warm until six," Richard said with a smile as he handed a bag of food to Chief Hopper, then asked, "Been busy lately?"
"It's alright. Although there are no obvious signs of The Upside Down invading the real world yet, since winter is coming, we have to strictly manage the town's homeless, send them to the Welfare Center for shelter, and handle some daily chores around town. It takes some effort." Chief Hopper grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped his sweat.
Richard crossed his arms with a smile and said, "The lunchboxes aren't disposable. Wash them and return them to me when you're done."
"Actually, you could just..." Chief Hopper was about to say that disposable containers would have been fine, but then he suddenly realized that Chade wasn't someone who would be so inconsiderate. He caught the deeper meaning in Chade's eyes, glanced at the lunchbox in his hand, and understood there must be something else inside. He smiled slightly, "Alright, I'll wash them well and bring them back."
He also suddenly realized that this was actually a convenient way for Eleven to communicate with the outside world.
In the future, under the guise of delivering food and returning lunchboxes, Eleven and Chade could "pass notes" to exchange information. If there were someone other than him who could talk to her regularly, she would probably be quite happy.
Chief Hopper left Richard's house. He intended to check what was inside while in the car, but thinking that someone might be watching in the shadows, he immediately drove home.
"You're an hour late." Upon returning home, Chief Hopper saw little Eleven sitting on the sofa, throwing a tantrum.
Chief Hopper quickly forced a smile and said, "Work was too busy, I got off late. But Chade's food is here. Before you lose your temper, why don't you finish this delicious dinner first? Good food isn't so good once it's past its prime."
Eleven blinked and immediately scurried to the dining table, picking up her fork and knife with a smile, looking full of anticipation.
Chief Hopper secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He cleared his throat and said with a smile, "By the way, Chade seems to have brought something else, maybe a letter or something."
"A letter? For me?" Curiosity first filled Eleven's large eyes, followed by a joy that bloomed like spring shoots. She immediately reached out and snatched a Paper Crane that Hopper had just found in the thermal bag.
"He didn't say it was for you," Chief Hopper said with a doting smile, leaning one hand on the table. Watching Eleven carefully unfold the Paper Crane, he chuckled again, "Folded so delicately, it's probably not for me either, haha."
Finally, the letter was unfolded. Eleven read the contents carefully, then suddenly looked up: "There are quite a few words I don't recognize. Can you read it to me?"
"Heh, you still have to rely on me after all," Chief Hopper chuckled to himself. He walked behind Eleven, holding the creased square paper with her, and read word for word, "To the lovely little Eleven, today I've prepared three dishes and a soup for you and Mr. Hopper. The main dish is Yangzhou Fried Rice, the other two are Cantonese Char Siu and Meatball and Eggplant Pot, and the soup is Tomato and Egg Soup. I hope you enjoy it."
"If there's anything else you want to eat in the future, just use letters to place your order."
"Finally, there's one more serious matter to tell you. There's a mansion in Hawkins Town that once belonged to the 'Creel' family. It's now abandoned, and inside..."
As Chief Hopper read on, his gaze gradually became serious. Even little Eleven, who knew the truth, was dazed with shock... "Dr. Owens, is it really just simple PTSD?" Troy came to The Lab for his weekly check-up as usual. During his psychological therapy session with Dr. Owens, he relayed Richard's guess to him in his own words.
Dr. Owens fell silent, or rather, he fell into a state of anxiety and suspicion. He had to admit that what Troy said wasn't without merit. However, if things were as Troy suspected, then the crisis of The Upside Down was definitely not as simple as it appeared. There must be some insidious, despicable, and evil high-intelligence creatures within The Upside Down.
F*ck Brennan!
It was bad enough that he had to clean up his dirty mess, but it was also so difficult to clean!
"Everything will be fine." Dr. Owens gave Troy a kind smile to put him at ease. "I will definitely help you solve the problem with your body. Trust me, child."
"I hope so." Troy shook his head, a hint of disappointment in his eyes as he picked up the water cup on the table.
Crack, crack, crunch, crunch—
Suddenly, the hair on Troy's body stood on end. An unspeakable, bone-chilling cold and foul, rotting air rushed into his nostrils, freezing his heart and making his brain tremble. The water cup he was about to drink from was now filled with black, stinking pus. The surroundings became dark and oppressive, the soothing lights turned a dim blood-red, and the floor and walls were covered in rot and unknown grease. He could faintly hear the monster's roar that he never wanted to hear again, coming from behind him.
Just as he turned his head, he felt a large, sharp claw placed on his shoulder. Troy, nearly losing his sanity, broke down and screamed, tears streaming down his face. He hurled the water cup behind him, but it struck Dr. Owens, who was concernedly checking on his seizure-like state, right in the head.