Eldritch Horror Theatre

'Done!'

After the mission summary finished playing, Fu Qian felt a wave of profound satisfaction.

Overall, apart from the monster's sanity-corrupting appearance, this mission's difficulty hadn't been too high.

Even though the final dream had looped over a hundred times, he didn't feel the slightest bit exhausted.

Compared to his past experiences, this was the very first time he actually felt like he was grinding mobs.

The key was that the monster had handled the reloading for him, and it hadn't consumed any SAN Value.

It had even earned him the One-Life Clear achievement.

As for the replay, there was no need.

He genuinely had no desire to sit through certain scenes from that mission again.

That aside, his haul was massive.

With the mission complete, his SAN Value had already reached 95 points. Triple digits were just around the corner.

Fu Qian scrolled straight down to the achievement rewards.

[Transcendence: Skill. Upon casting, allows you to return to your original starting point. Limited to one use per Containment.]

[Note: A technique dreamed of by perfectionists, though it is said to actually increase the probability of failure.]

Return to the original starting point? That basically meant hitting restart.

He had to admit, it was a very fitting reward for the One-Life Clear achievement.

But as for the skill itself... it was hard to say whether it was actually a good thing!

Fu Qian frowned in thought.

Theoretically speaking, this definitely counted as a strategic skill.

On one hand, having an extra chance during every Containment was practically equivalent to doubling his SAN Value.

It also offered much more flexibility, meaning he wouldn't have to wait for a Containment Failure to restart the run.

But that was exactly the problem.

Based on his past mission experience, many clues didn't reveal themselves until a life-or-death crisis.

Suddenly having a restart option might lead him to misjudge a situation and bail out prematurely, missing those clues.

This was likely what the note meant.

It was a strategic skill, but he couldn't over-rely on it.

Fu Qian quickly reached a conclusion. He continued scrolling up and found the other reward.

[Mythical Form: Upgrades your next attack into a Mythical Form. Each use consumes 1 point of SAN Value.]

[Note: Peering into the mythical means paying the price in sanity.]

This?

Fu Qian stared at it, utterly dumbfounded.

To him, 1 point of SAN Value was equivalent to one—no, two lives!

It might as well just be renamed to Longevity Equal to Heaven and Earth!

Instantly, he felt like his SAN Value wasn't going to be nearly enough anymore.

Plus, there was another issue. It only stated that the attack would be upgraded to a Mythical Form without explaining the specific effects at all.

Considering the steep price of testing it even once, he would just have to look for an opportunity to study it later.

But considering it was a skill that literally burned through his life to use, the effects couldn't be garbage, right?

He could only conclude that this skill was even more strategic than Transcendence.

Regardless, scoring two skills at once on top of the basic rewards made this mission incredibly lucrative.

At least he hadn't sat through all those grotesque scenes for nothing.

Before leaving the Warehouse, Fu Qian made a point of checking the area where 2-088 was stored.

He opened the box. Inside rested a menacing black-and-red crown, its Spikes still stained with dried blood.

...

Green beans, tomatoes, beef, tiger prawns...

Humming a tune as he strolled leisurely through the supermarket, Fu Qian steadily tossed food into his cart.

Although his current physique meant he definitely wouldn't starve to death if he skipped meals, he had zero intention of giving up the pleasure of eating.

Back when he was so poor he'd practically been eating dirt, he'd survived on nothing but noodles and chili sauce. He hadn't been to a supermarket in ages.

Now, with a supposed annual salary of ten million, he'd easily achieved basic supermarket freedom.

Of course, there was another, far more important reason.

Considering his work environment, Fu Qian felt he needed to maintain proper contact with human society. Otherwise, it would be far too easy to become twisted without even realizing it.

"Mr. Fu?"

Immersed in his shopping, Fu Qian suddenly heard someone call out from behind him.

"It really is you!"

He turned around to see Pei Yanqing in casual clothes, arm-in-arm with another girl. Both were staring at him with wide eyes, one looking excited and the other intensely curious.

"Hello."

Fu Qian nodded.

"A classmate told me yesterday that you were the one who brought me back. Thank you so much for the trouble!"

Pei Yanqing thanked him with absolute sincerity.

"It was an effortless favor."

Fu Qian gave a polite, expressionless reply.

She obviously had no idea that she was actually the victim.

Still, if she hadn't reminded him, he would have sworn it happened days ago.

Was the intensity of his work really taking that much of a toll?

Fu Qian sized Pei Yanqing up. She didn't seem to show any lingering abnormalities.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm completely fine now, thanks for asking."

Pei Yanqing flashed a pretty smile. She glanced at Fu Qian's overflowing shopping cart, unable to hide her surprise.

"You bought so much! Are you having guests over?"

"I just have a big appetite."

Fu Qian had no intention of explaining further.

"Don't you have to work today?"

"I only work part-time there occasionally."

Pei Yanqing giggled.

"It's Friday, so we came out for groceries. We're having hotpot tonight!"

University life sure is vibrant, he mused.

Fu Qian nodded but didn't say anything.

At that moment, the girl beside her tugged at Pei Yanqing's sleeve. Pei Yanqing suddenly remembered.

"I forgot to introduce you! This is He Xian, my college roommate."

"Hello."

The girl named He Xian was quite pretty, with bright eyes and a lively demeanor. She took the initiative to greet him.

"Hello."

After the brief exchange, He Xian quickly dragged Pei Yanqing off to continue shopping. Soon, their conversation drifted back to him.

"He really is super handsome! You weren't bragging."

"Hmph. Obviously."

"A guy that handsome got stood up? Are you kidding?"

"Why would I lie? I watched him eat a whole table of food by himself."

"Sigh, I can't imagine what kind of woman could be so heartless! Wait a second... you dragged me all the way out here to shop instead of going somewhere closer. Were you secretly hoping to run into him?"

"Do you think I'm psychic? How could I possibly predict I'd bump into him here? He brought me home; if I saw him, of course I had to thank him properly."

...

Watching the two girls walk away, Fu Qian frowned slightly.

Pei Yanqing's roommate had picked up on the exact same discrepancy he had.

Lin University wasn't exactly close. There were several other places to buy groceries along the way, so there was no need for them to come all the way out here.

However, Pei Yanqing's response had sounded completely natural, without the slightest hint of guilt. And that was precisely the problem.

It would be one thing if she had consciously sought him out to thank him. The concerning part was that she might not have realized it herself, subconsciously choosing to come here.

More importantly, she had managed to run straight into him. It felt like too much of a coincidence.

Was his very existence already starting to exert some special influence on this world?

But regardless, she was a victim of his mistake. He might as well do her a favor while he was here.

With that thought, Fu Qian grabbed a twelve-pack of cola from the shelf and casually tossed it.

The twelve-pack traced a perfect parabola through the air, landing squarely on a young man who was just brushing past the two girls.

Caught completely off guard, the young man took the heavy blow and tumbled onto the floor.

He Xian and Pei Yanqing jumped in fright. They instinctively stepped forward to help him up, but to their surprise, the man scrambled to his feet with practiced agility and bolted for the exit.

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