[You have deciphered a type of Anomaly item—The Moribund Hypnosis Notebook.]
[The Moribund Hypnosis Notebook (004)—Records experimental methods and results of hypnotizing the dying, exploring the impact of hypnosis on the boundary between life and death. Blindly stepping into unknown territory will lead to unpredictable consequences; the unknown brings fear, and the fear of the unknown is inevitably accompanied by an unspeakable despair.]
After returning from the scene of Mrs. Tracy's death, Richard sealed the notebook back into its original box and eventually handed it over to Hopper to deal with. It would most likely be burned by Hopper along with Mrs. Tracy's remains.
After Mrs. Tracy's death, Richard did not see her soul at the scene. Instead, he saw the vengeful spirit of Mr. Ernest, who had died a wrongful death, and another unfamiliar vengeful spirit. It wasn't hard to guess that both of these souls, burdened with mountains of resentment, were unfortunate victims of the moribund hypnosis experiments.
However, Richard found it a bit strange. Compared to ordinary vengeful spirits, the power of these two was somewhat terrifyingly large. Moreover, according to Eleven's description, their power had increased suddenly, as if they had received some kind of 'blessing'.
Hawkins Town had always been a place where spatial dimensions were somewhat unstable. The barrier between the reality of the town and the space of The Upside Down was very thin. As long as there was enough energy to cross space, a gate to The Upside Down could be opened, just like Eleven's superpower. Because of this, the air in the town's reality was often permeated with a certain dark power from The Upside Down. This power was an extremely nourishing nutrient for spiritual bodies, which was also why the likelihood of vengeful spirits forming in the town was much higher than elsewhere.
However, Richard didn't believe that the two 'Ernest' souls had become so powerful simply by absorbing that bit of thin energy. If that small amount of dark power in the town's air could make a newborn vengeful spirit so strong, wouldn't the nest of fierce ghosts in his own home have taken off long ago?
It turned out that something else had caused the souls of the deceased to suddenly become stronger. Since Eleven sensed it was related to the power of The Upside Down, it indicated that The Upside Down had become active again recently without their knowledge.
Richard was puzzled by this. How could Henry, who had been so heavily wounded a year ago, be making a comeback now?
...After some careful invitation and persuasion, the understanding and ambitious Joyce finally accepted the job offer from Richard and Steve. Joyce was now a trainee manager. Once she finished her training, Richard and Steve could step back and hand the shop entirely over to her and Robin, allowing them to further develop their business plans.
Steve could now be considered to have some modest wealth. Not counting the inheritance his parents would leave him later, his own monthly income was sufficient, so he couldn't help but feel a bit lightheaded with success.
Indeed, even a wealthy young master could have moments of 'nouveau riche' behavior. To please Nancy, Steve didn't hesitate to spend a large sum of money to buy her a supercar for their anniversary.
Although Nancy was happy to receive an anniversary gift, her emotions upon receiving it were mostly shock and distress. She felt Steve's behavior was a bit excessive, so while she expressed her happiness, she didn't intend to accept the gift. Nancy felt she couldn't afford to take it.
Steve insisted on Nancy accepting the gift, stating that he hadn't intended to put pressure on her.
Nancy was a stubborn girl by nature, and she stood her ground.
During this back-and-forth, the two gradually became unhappy. On the day of the joyful Halloween Night party, they were probably the only couple who were on bad terms.
"Chade, I don't know why it turned out like this. I just wanted to make her happy and solidify our relationship." Steve found Richard during a break and expressed his regret.
Richard and Steve were sitting in the bleachers of the basketball gym. Richard watched the students playing on the court while asking, "Solidify? Are you worried about something lately?"
Hearing Richard's words, Steve was stunned for a moment, then laughed helplessly. He also watched the students playing basketball and said, "You really are good at capturing people's inner emotions no matter when it is. Just a small slip-up allows you to see my true thoughts.
I am indeed a bit worried about the relationship between Nancy and me. Maybe Nancy doesn't mean it, but lately, I've felt her keeping her distance. She's seeking more time alone. I know she's upset about not getting through her college application, and I wanted to comfort her, but she seems to be rejecting my approach. So I wonder if I'm not doing something well enough and she's getting tired of me..."
While watching the sports on the court, Richard patiently listened to Steve's relationship problems. He glanced at him and said, "Why don't you just ask her yourself why she's been like this lately?"
"I'm afraid she'll get angry."
"But haven't you already made her angry through other means?"
"..." Steve was speechless, but he felt Richard's words made a lot of sense. "Alright, I'll go talk to Nancy privately tonight. Thanks for the advice."
Facing Steve's serious gaze, Richard smiled slightly. "I'm a single dog myself, and yet you're coming to me for relationship advice. You're something else."
"Hehe, I just feel like you can give me the advice I need. Besides, you're my best friend. Who else would I go to?" Steve also smiled and patted Richard's shoulder.
Richard shook his head with a light laugh. Just as he was about to say something, his gaze suddenly darted toward the court.
Bang!
There was a loud bang on the court, and a basketball flew straight toward the bleachers, heading for Richard and Steve. Steve was dazed and didn't have time to dodge; he could only instinctively brace himself. At that moment, a hand that wasn't particularly large spread its fingers and blocked his face, stopping the high-speed basketball and catching it.
"Hey, sorry, my bad." Billy was chewing gum, standing shirtless in the middle of the court. His tone was apologetic, but his expression was quite lazy and arrogant.
"An accident from the center of the court all the way over here? The hoop isn't over here. Your nearsightedness and polio must be pretty severe, California Girl-Butt." Richard responded with a smile.
As soon as he said this, Steve, who was about to snap at Billy, couldn't help but burst out laughing. This set off the other students watching the game, and their eyes uncontrollably focused on a certain prominent part of Billy's anatomy.
Billy's face immediately darkened. What made him even more displeased was that his few lackeys were trying hard to stifle their laughter, which added a bit of shame and annoyance to his mood.
"Don't talk so much. We're still practicing. Either give the ball back quickly, or you and Steve come down and play a game with us?" Billy beckoned with his finger, a provocative edge to his anger.
"I'd rather not. I don't like playing with people who don't know how to play. Here, your ball." Richard smiled and threw the ball back.
Bang!
The basketball flew out again even faster than before. Facing such ball speed, Billy felt his scalp tingle, but he controlled his feet, not wanting to dodge because that would be embarrassing. So he caught the ball head-on, which made his legs unsteady. He couldn't help but step back, his thumbs aching. He had to rely on his chest muscles to brace it and the people behind him to prop him up; otherwise, he would have been knocked to the ground by a single basketball.
Even though he seemingly caught the ball with style, Billy still paid a significant price. He looked back at the bleachers with a cold sweat, but he only saw the backs of Richard and Steve.
These two boys living in a rural town seemed to be silently telling him that they had never cared about him at all.