Eldritch Horror Theatre

Lincheng City, Gubei Xinyuan, Unit 7, 6th Floor.

A Warehouse Manager with a ten-million annual salary?

Fu Qian stared at the letter on his desk, his face perfectly blank.

[Urgently hiring a Warehouse Manager, responsible for daily management duties]

[If Mr. Fu wishes to accept this position, please sign and wear the enclosed Work Badge to begin working from home immediately]

[Attention: This job entails certain risks]

Reading the letter's contents, Fu Qian picked up the envelope and gave it a shake. Sure enough, a black Work Badge tumbled out.

Was this a joke?

Ten million a year, and he could do it from home?

Receiving this first thing in the morning was a massive pain in the ass.

Then again, it would be amazing if it were true.

A Warehouse Manager shouldn't be too busy.

High pay, low effort, and a zero-minute commute—it was the absolute dream job!

Money was hard to earn these days. With his dismal finances, he was on the verge of going completely broke.

Fortunately, Fu Qian had always been good at finding amusement in misery.

Figuring he had nothing to lose, his hands itched with curiosity. He grabbed a pen, signed the Work Badge, and hung it around his neck in mock seriousness.

The next moment, his vision went pitch-black.

When his sight returned, his computer desk was gone. Fu Qian found himself standing in a massive, warehouse-like space.

The space was enormous and dimly lit. Without a single window in sight, it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

Rows of towering shelves stretched all the way to the ceiling, extending neatly into the distance.

Silver-white square boxes of varying sizes were evenly spaced along the shelves.

Was this... really an online job?

Was the Work Badge some kind of VR device?

Fu Qian felt his imagination stretched to its limits as he tried with all his might to process what was happening.

[Identity verification successful]

[Name: Fu Qian]

[Age: 20]

[Today's work begins]

[Job Responsibilities: Daily management and maintenance of the Warehouse, ensuring goods are correctly contained]

[Attention: Due to the special nature of the stored items, seeing any hallucinations during work—including but not limited to tentacles, eyeballs, strange patterns, and stone steles—is considered a routine leak. Please do not panic. Simply follow the prompts to re-contain the goods.]

A series of emotionless voices rang in his ears.

Tentacles, eyeballs... this was completely the wrong vibe!

Fu Qian stared at the square boxes on the shelves.

What on earth was packed inside them?

And besides, the packaging looked perfectly sealed. How could they possibly leak?

Beep—

It was as if something had heard his question.

The next moment, the space a short distance away distorted, and a massive, blood-red eyeball slowly materialized.

[Warning! Leakage incident]

[Item Number: 3-2048; Name: Blood Haze]

[Today's work objectives have been updated: Enter the 3-2048 Containment Scenario and complete re-containment]

A string of small text popped up in the upper left corner of his vision.

It actually leaked just like that?

Before Fu Qian could even process this, the blood-red eyeball slowly pivoted and locked its gaze onto him.

Almost instantly, it felt as though a sledgehammer had slammed into Fu Qian's brain, and his consciousness was rapidly ripped away.

[Entering 3-2048 Containment Scenario: Full Moon Garden]

[Containment Fulfillment Conditions: Survive in Full Moon Garden for one hour]

[Each entry into a Containment Scenario costs 1 point of SAN Value. Current SAN Value: 20]

[If your SAN Value reaches zero, you will permanently lose your sanity]

...

I knew a ten-million salary wouldn't be this easy to earn!

Losing my sanity when my SAN Value hits zero means if I fail twenty times, I turn into a drooling idiot?

Isn't this workplace hazard a bit too severe?!

Fu Qian cursed furiously in his head.

[...1%... 5%... 50%... 98%... 100%... Full Moon Garden loading complete]

[For a long time, you have been tortured by increasingly agonizing pain. Just as you made up your mind to travel to a foreign land in search of a cure, you found yourself plunged into an even more terrifying predicament.]

[Identity: Patient]

[Skills: None]

[Weapons: None]

"You're awake?"

As he regained control of his body, someone spoke beside him.

Fu Qian tried turning his head and found that he was lying on a bed.

A withered, hunched old man stood by the bedside, his expression giving off an inexplicably creepy vibe.

"Rest assured, your illness will soon be cured... after all, our medical skills here are absolutely unparalleled, hehehehe..."

I'd believe you a lot more if you hadn't added that creepy laugh at the end!

Fu Qian narrowed his eyes and stayed silent.

Besides, you're the one who's sick! I'm perfectly healthy and full of energy—ow! Ow! Ow ow ow!

Just as the thought crossed his mind, an indescribable wave of agony swept through his body, nearly sending him tumbling out of the bed.

Is this the pain the system mentioned?

If I have to endure this level of pain for an hour just to clear the mission, isn't that way too inhumane?!

Fighting the urge to curl into a fetal position, Fu Qian followed the line of the old man's fingers and spotted a long IV tube.

The IV tube snaked down from a nearby stand, its needle buried deep in the back of his hand.

He's actually treating my illness?

But this equipment looks like it hasn't been replaced in eight hundred years! What is all that yellow gunk caked on the outside of the IV bottle? Human fat?

Wait, the color of the liquid inside isn't right either!

It's terrifyingly red... don't tell me that's blood?

"Now then... let us begin."

Without giving him a chance to speak, the old man opened the valve on the IV tube wide.

Fu Qian's vision instantly went black.

[Containment Failure. Survival time: 1 minute]

[Evaluation: Worthless weakling. Your performance perfectly demonstrated the phrase 'hesitation leads to defeat'.]

[Reward: None]

I'm dead already? I knew there was something wrong with the crap in that IV bottle!

Having returned to the Warehouse, Fu Qian was in a foul mood.

That evaluation was pretty damn insulting!

Right in front of him, a cluster of illusory mist had formed into an eyeball-shaped portal. He reached out and tapped it.

[Would you like to consume 1 point of SAN Value to attempt containment again? Current SAN Value: 19 points]

I only have nineteen chances left?

[Yes]

Fu Qian wasn't the type to give up so easily.

...

[SAN Value -1. Entering Containment Scenario.]

[Current Identity: Patient]

[Skills: None]

[Weapons: None]

"You're awake?"

The old man's kindly voice rang out once again, sending a violent shudder down Fu Qian's spine.

Awake my ass! Go to hell!

Fighting through the excruciating pain, Fu Qian snapped up from the bed and violently yanked at the IV tube.

Smack!

He only made it halfway up.

An unimaginably immense force slammed into him. Like a wet noodle, he was swatted out of the air and smashed brutally back down onto the bed.

Lying flat on the bed, Fu Qian groaned. He felt as though his spine had just been shattered into several pieces.

"Be a good boy and lie still..."

The old man's voice didn't waver in the slightest. Then, Fu Qian's vision went black once again.

[Containment Failure. Survival time: 1.5 minutes]

[Evaluation: Worthless weakling. As everyone knows, hesitation leads to defeat, while acting decisively is just throwing your life away.]

[Reward: None]

This old geezer is unbelievable!

He can't even stand up straight, but he's got the strength of a monster!

Once again back in the Warehouse, Fu Qian let out a heartfelt sigh of disbelief.

...

[SAN Value -1. Entering Containment Scenario.]

"Actually, I feel much better."

Upon entering for the third time, Fu Qian profoundly realized he couldn't win with brute force. He decided to take the diplomatic route and reason with the old man.

"Oh?"

The old man paused what he was doing and carefully sized Fu Qian up.

"Does your body... not hurt anymore?"

"Not... hurting... anymore...!"

Forcing the blatant lie out of his mouth, Fu Qian felt his eyelids trembling in sheer agony.

Heh!

Half a minute later, the old man shook his head, looking at him with the pity one might reserve for a complete idiot.

"Your expression has already betrayed you..."

"Young people shouldn't hide their ailments from their doctor."

His hand flicked the IV valve, and Fu Qian's vision went completely black once again.

[Containment Failure]

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