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The unlit bonfire stood quietly in the clearing beside the Black Lake.
Gathered Nevermore students chatted and laughed continuously.
Only Pugsley Addams stood alone at the edge of the shadows, like a forgotten comma.
He had just proposed his brilliant exploration plan to some newly met classmates—
To find the legendary student corpse with a clockwork heart buried on campus grounds. The result was only a pile of avoiding glances and awkward silences.
Just then, a warm hand slapped heavily onto his shoulder.
"Hey, bro, not partying? What are you doing here playing the Melancholy Prince alone?"
Pugsley turned around and saw Vic's ever-smiling face.
Vic had one arm affectionately around his shoulder, while the other hand held a supersized chocolate bar he was munching on happily.
Seeing Pugsley look over, he naturally offered the chocolate, cocoa crumbs still on the corner of his mouth:
"Want a bite? Sweets work best when you're in a bad mood."
"Brother-in-law!"
Pugsley's dim eyes lit up instantly.
Right, how could I forget Vic! Brother-in-law definitely won't think my idea is weird.
He immediately spilled his plan to "go dig for the clockwork heart corpse by the skeleton tree while the bonfire is lit and everyone is noisy."
"Go dig up a corpse by the skeleton tree while the bonfire is lit?"
Vic shook his head like a rattle after listening.
"No, no. Too amateur!"
Pugsley's face fell instantly. Even Vic doesn't understand him?
But Vic's next sentence took a sharp turn. He shook his head, putting on the air of an old scholar, his fingers tapping the air as if holding a pipe:
"I can tell you're still young. Grave robbing requires following the rules left by ancestors. Listen to your brother-in-law: we have to choose the third watch (midnight)! That's the golden hour for this trade. Dark moon, high wind, peak yin energy—that's when things go smoothly!"
"So... you're willing to go with me?"
Pugsley's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"Naturally!"
Vic patted his chest, raising an eyebrow smugly.
"We'll go right after the bonfire party disperses. Wait until the third watch, and I'll show you what 'professional' means!"
He lowered his voice, leaning into Pugsley's ear like a conspirator handing off a secret mission.
"Remember to prepare the 'tools'—flashlights, gloves, and... uh, best if you can get an entrenching shovel. Those things dig fast!"
Pugsley nodded vigorously, a flush of excitement rising on his pale face.
He looked at Vic, feeling his brother-in-law's image grow infinitely tall.
Seeing the school anthem segment ending, and the main event of lighting the bonfire about to start, Vic grabbed the eager Pugsley. Like two agile loaches, they squeezed forward through the increasingly excited crowd.
"Excuse me, excuse me! Coming through!"
Vic yelled while turning sideways to pass through a dense cluster of people.
In the process, his elbow accidentally bumped a girl standing at the edge of the front row—a redhead with twin braids.
"Ouch!"
The girl stumbled from the bump and whipped her head around.
Seeing it was Vic, her eyes burned with fury as she glared at him viciously, sharp enough to carve a piece of meat off him.
Vic was stunned by her glare, then found the girl somewhat familiar.
In a flash, he remembered—
Wasn't this the girl with the notebook who wanted Wednesday's autograph yesterday, the one with the nearly pathological obsession in her eyes?
Seemed to be a... pretty fanatical "Solo Stan"?
"Sorry, sorry, didn't see you!"
Vic quickly flashed his signature innocent, brilliant smile and apologized rapidly.
The girl huffed coldly through her nose, gave him another vicious glare, and turned back around.
Vic shrugged, not minding much, and continued dragging Pugsley forward.
He was big-hearted; this little episode was thrown to the back of his mind instantly.
"Hey! Vic! Over here!"
"Senior Vic, look here!"
"Black! Let's drink later!"
Everywhere he went, greetings and camera flashes popped up.
Although the composition of Vic's popularity was complex—with plenty of bad reviews and "stake-burning" threats—he was genuinely popular. With his god-given looks, it was hard not to attract attention.
Especially among the girls, quite a few screamed for him secretly.
Most were just wary of his terrifyingly cold Wednesday and his sweet-smiling-but-painful-punching Enid.
They only dared to watch from afar, not actually step up to "cause trouble."
Otherwise, Vic probably would have been drowned by girls making excuses to get close long ago.
As for the guys, their emotions were more complex.
Jealousy was real, but admiration was genuine too—
Simultaneously handling two goddesses with vastly different styles but top-tier quality like Wednesday and Enid was textbook "Winner at Life."
Just then, the lingering notes of the anthem faded.
Acting Principal Barry Dort stood on the raised platform in the center. Instead of using a torch like tradition, he raised his hand elegantly. Poof! A flame leaped from his fingertips.
"To borrow a quote from a famous figure: A single spark can start a prairie fire!"
He announced loudly. With a flick of his wrist, the fireball drew a beautiful arc like it had a life of its own.
It shot precisely toward the massive eagle sculpture made of countless dry branches, wings spread as if to fly!
WOOSH—!
Flames instantly swallowed the wooden eagle, turning it into a divine bird truly bathed in fire!
Immediately after, students with telekinetic abilities present—
Mainly the intellectual outcasts known as "Da Vincis"—focused their minds simultaneously.
The burning fire eagle seemed lifted by invisible hands. Its giant flaming wings began to flap powerfully. Carrying scorching air currents and brilliant sparks, it slowly left the wooden pyre base and soared into the pitch-black night sky!
"Whoa—!"
Deafening cheers and exclamations erupted from the crowd.
The burning eagle soared in the night, dragging a long trail of sparks like a fleeting, glorious meteor, illuminating the shores of Black Lake as bright as day.
"Oho! That's a nice creative touch! Flashy enough!"
Vic looked up, his eyes reflecting the sky full of firelight, praising sincerely.
Even Venom, who had been sulking inside him and blocking external senses, was drawn by this spectacular scene.
He couldn't help but peek out from Vic's shoulder. His giant white eyes stared unblinkingly at the fire eagle in the sky, making raspy, excited clicking sounds:
"Tsk tsk, for a little human trick, this shows some sincerity!"
With the bonfire lit, the party atmosphere hit its climax instantly.
"Vic! Finally found you!"
Enid squeezed through the restless crowd with great effort. Her blue eyes were filled with terror, her hair messy. She grabbed Vic's arm, her fingertips turning white from force.
"Someone... someone stuffed Wednesday's novel manuscript into the wood pile under the bonfire! Wednesday she... she went in! We have to put out the fire, now!"
What?!
Vic felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his skull. His heart felt clutched by a cold hand!
He whipped his head around, locking his gaze dead on the center of the clearing—
That bonfire, originally symbolizing celebration and revelry, had now transformed in his eyes into a roaring inferno hell, baring fangs and claws to devour everything!
Aided by the night wind, the fire was growing ferocious at a speed visible to the naked eye. The crackling of burning wood sounded like malicious laughter.
Wednesday? Is under that thing?!
Wednesday, who finds even sunlight glaring and whose body temperature is chronically low, is right now underneath that raging wood pile?!
"FCK!"
A crude curse burst out. All of Vic's cynicism and nonchalance were blown to smithereens instantly, replaced by a near-mad rage and terror!
Without any hesitation, he instinctively drove the Water Demon Chi hidden deep in his body, residing in his kidneys!
Stop fcking sleeping! Wake up and work!
He roared in his heart, as if waking a slumbering beast.
A bone-chilling yet boundless power erupted instantly from his kidneys. Like a bursting glacial flood, it swept through his limbs!
A distinct, strange sensation came from his waist—as if his organs were instantly frozen yet filled to the brim.
"Water come! Water COME!!"
Vic's eyes were bloodshot. Facing the bonfire, he let out a scream that was almost a roar, no longer caring about concealment or control!