Just as Principal Larissa was about to take the two troublesome students away from the café, detective Galpin seemed to suddenly remember something. Frowning, he turned back to Vic.
"Wait, Mr. Black," his voice carried an official, scrutinizing tone. "Where were you from around 10 PM last night to 2 AM this morning? And from 6 AM to 8 AM this morning?"
Vic blinked, spreading his hands with an innocent look. "In the dorm, esteemed detective. Nevermore Academy, luxury single room... uh, well, actually a triple room."
He pointed at Wednesday. "My good roommate, Wednesday Addams, can vouch for me. I was sleeping all night; she definitely knows I didn't go out."
He thought hard again. "Oh, right! Our other roommate, the adorable Little Wolf Girl Enid, can also testify! She can confirm I was discussing the feasibility of squid ink noodles with chocolate sauce with them this morning..."
"Co-ed housing?" a male customer nearby who had been eavesdropping couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his face showing an extremely complex expression—a mix of shock, envy, and a hint of admiration that seemed to say, "Your academy really knows how to live it up."
Several other customers nearby exchanged suggestive glances.
The detective's face darkened further. He automatically filtered out the nonsense and the reactions of those around him, focusing on the key information: "all night in the dorm."
He stared intently at Vic, seemingly judging the truth of his words, paying particular attention to the symbiote that had popped up again, nodding in agreement.
"There have been three murders nearby recently," detective Galpin's voice lowered, carrying a heavy weight.
"The victims were all... torn apart. Traces at the scene suggest the perpetrator might be a creature similar to a giant bear or... some other large predator."
His gaze swept meaningfully over Venom's menacing form.
"Whoa! A predator!" Vic exaggeratedly covered his mouth, then patted Venom's "head." "Hear that? He's talking about you! Next time you damage public property, do it quietly so people don't mistake you for a murderous bear."
Venom cooperatively bared its teeth, putting on an "extra fierce" expression.
The detective's mouth twitched. He clearly hadn't gained any useful information.
He took a deep breath, seeming to temporarily cross Vic off the suspect list, or perhaps just feeling that questioning him was a pure waste of time.
Finally, he turned his gaze toward Wednesday, who had remained silent, cold, and detached as if the entire farce had nothing to do with her.
"Miss Addams," his tone became somewhat complex, carrying a scrutinizing and... barely perceptible wariness. "I know your father, Gomez addams."
He paused, his voice not loud but hitting the ground like a block of ice:
"He's a murderer."
After saying this, he didn't look at anyone else, turned, and left the café with the still-pale Tyler, leaving behind an eerie silence and countless probing gazes.
Principal Larissa's face instantly darkened but quickly returned to normal.
She swept a stern glance at the whispering customers around her. Her powerful aura immediately restored a superficial calm to the café.
Vic wiped the grin off his face, and Venom quietly retracted.
He looked at Wednesday.
Wednesday stood in place, expressionless, as if the detective's last words were merely unimportant background noise.
Only in her fathomless eyes did an icy, piercing glint flash by, extremely quickly.
The hand holding her suitcase clenched, her knuckles turning increasingly pale.
"Let's go," Principal Larissa's voice broke the silence, brooking no argument.
Wednesday stepped forward first, her black figure resolutely cutting through the lingering gazes filled with curiosity, speculation, and a hint of fear as she walked out of the café.
On the rooftop of Nevermore Academy at night, a cool breeze whispered.
Wednesday Addams sat alone in the shadows, playing her cello. Passionate music flowed out—it was the song "Paint It Black."
Every stroke of the bow against the strings seemed to tear a gash in the night, releasing some suppressed, surging emotion.
Enid Sinclair sat hugging her knees not far away. Her ears twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but whisper to Vic, who was fiddling with two potted plants beside her:
"This tune... it sounds like she's forcefully suppressing something, or trying to break free from something. Is she in a bad mood?"
Vic was holding a small watering can, carefully watering two potted plants on the windowsill—they were the "welcome gifts" sent by the dorm supervisor, Ms. Thornhill, last night.
One was for Wednesday: a large, eerily blooming black dahlia.
The other was for Vic: a small tomato plant with a few unripe green fruits.
"Maybe it's because the escape plan failed," Vic shrugged, also lowering his voice.
He looked at the black dahlia, feeling it was a perfect match for Wednesday's vibe, then sighed as he looked at his own somewhat goofy-looking tomato plant.
The atmosphere was a bit oppressive. He didn't know what to do, so he just mechanically watered the plants, as if that could liven up the heavy air a bit.
He wanted to do something to ease the uncomfortable atmosphere. Coincidentally, a long, wild wolf howl came from the distant forest, piercing the night sky.
Vic's eyes lit up as if he had found a topic. He turned and asked Enid, "Hey, it's a full moon tonight! Aren't you going to transform?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to smash the watering can into his own face. *Way to hit a sore spot!*
Sure enough, Enid's head drooped. Her golden short hair seemed to lose its luster.
She fiddled with her fingers dejectedly, her nails instantly lengthening and retracting. "You know, the Claws... that's all I've got."
Her voice was muffled, carrying a barely perceptible tremor. "I've tried countless times, but I just can't fully transform... I'm scared. If this goes on, I'll be cast out by the pack, become a lone wolf, and in the end... end up alone."
She was confiding her greatest fear to Vic.
"Wow, Vic," Venom mocked mercilessly in his mind. "You're a real master at easing the mood."
Vic's face flushed with embarrassment. He scratched his head and ears for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence: "N-no worries! I'll keep you company! You won't be alone!"
Enid's head snapped up. Her cheeks instantly flushed with two bright spots of red. Her eyes darted away, and her fingers nervously twisted the hem of her shirt. "W-who needs your company..." her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Now, not only was the atmosphere not eased, it had become even more awkward and ambiguous.
"Brilliant!" Venom gave a silent round of applause inside him. "Successfully upgraded awkwardness to pink-hued awkwardness!"
Vic scratched his head anxiously, his eyes darting around. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he slapped his thigh! "Right! Presents!"
He turned, pulled Venom out, and rummaged around inside its body. First, he pulled out an enormous, dazzlingly colorful, and even glittering rainbow unicorn plushie, almost half a person tall, and stuffed it directly into Enid's arms.
"Here! For you!" Vic grinned. "A token of friendship! Super matches you, right?"
Enid was stunned by the sudden, overly vibrant gift. Hugging the grinning unicorn, the blush on her face deepened. She instinctively buried her face in the plushie's soft mane and mumbled softly, "Thank you..."
Vic then turned to Wednesday, who was still playing the cello, and said loudly, "Don't worry! There's one for you too!"
Saying this, he pulled out another identical, eye-searingly bright rainbow unicorn from that pocket, enthusiastically waving it toward Wednesday.
Wednesday's cello playing stopped abruptly.
She looked up, expressionless, at Vic and the mismatched rainbow monster in his hand. Her red lips parted, and her sharp tongue lashed out mercilessly:
"If your aesthetic sense is as unfortunately damaged as your brain, I suggest you jump off the rooftop directly. Perhaps you'll get a chance at rebirth."
"Just kidding! Lightening the mood!" Vic immediately stuffed the rainbow unicorn back into Venom's body, laughing awkwardly. "This one was actually something Venom wanted. It can't sleep without it at night."
"Bullshit!" Venom cursed angrily, waving its tendrils. "You're the one who wants to cuddle with it while sleeping at night! You even named it 'Little Rainbow'!"
Vic hurriedly covered Venom's "mouth" and reached into its body again.
This time, he carefully brought out an exquisitely crafted, highly detailed miniature guillotine model. It had a wooden structure, a metal blade gleaming coldly, and even a tiny prisoner doll fixed underneath.
"This one," Vic offered it to Wednesday like a treasure, "is a replica of the one that beheaded Louis XVI. Perfect scale, and the blade can actually drop! I added a little mechanism—press the button, and there's a simulated 'crunch' sound and a bit of red liquid..."
Wednesday's gaze was instantly captivated.
She put down her cello, walked over, took the miniature guillotine, and carefully ran her fingers over every detail, checking the blade's sharpness and the wood's grain.
"A crude imitation," she criticized verbally, but her tone had softened considerably.
"I stopped playing with such basic models when I was five."
But her hand held it steadily, showing no intention of returning it. She carefully tucked it into her small bag. "However, it does have some collectible value."
She paused, her eyes looking elsewhere, and quickly said in a voice almost too faint to hear: "Thank you."
Miraculously, the atmosphere eased.
Wednesday even felt that the night air seemed less suffocating.
Looking at Enid, blushing and hugging the rainbow unicorn, and Vic, who had started grinning foolishly again while fiddling with his tomato plant, she suddenly felt that perhaps... staying in this asylum-like academy wasn't completely unbearable.
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