Eldritch Horror Theatre

He had to admit, that woman Yuan Shan was quite strong!

At the very least, those black ribbons perfectly countered a physical fighter like him.

If not for the boost from Mythical Form, breaking free would have taken considerable effort.

Bursting out of the encirclement, Fu Qian sprinted the entire way back, his mind racing.

Regardless, today's plan to strike the grass to startle the snake had succeeded beyond his expectations.

Not only had he slipped into the Restricted Zone, but he had even gone head-to-head with the boss of the Shangjing Night Watchers.

Mythical Form was a terrifying skill. Without its enhancement, even if he had managed to unleash that strike, the price would likely have been unimaginably steep.

Right now, aside from a brief bout of weakness from overclocking his body, he felt absolutely fine.

Of course, that move might have exposed the fact that he wasn't the real Henrik, but that wasn't an issue at all.

Letting them assume Henrik had an accomplice might make the effect of striking the grass to startle the snake even better.

The next step was simply quietly observing changes and waiting to see how the various factions reacted.

...

In reality, the changes came even faster than he had expected.

The very next morning, Fu Qian welcomed a visitor.

'This isn't what I envisioned. Why is she the one knocking on my door?'

Watching Wen Li knock on the downstairs door, Fu Qian felt puzzled.

He had indeed given her the address to The Bookstore when they parted ways yesterday.

Given Wen Li's intelligence, however, she should have grasped the underlying message that he didn't welcome visitors.

'So why is she here the very next day?'

Sensing something slightly fishy, Fu Qian got up and headed downstairs.

After getting away yesterday, considering Fang Xun's name was already registered with the Night Watchers, he had chosen to return to The Bookstore to rest and avoid unnecessary suspicion.

This building had a typical layout with a storefront on the first floor and a residence on the second, and it hadn't been severely affected by the previous incident.

Besides, the Night Watchers were quite efficient.

By the time he returned yesterday, Qin Feng's corpse had long since been hauled away from downstairs, and the place had been thoroughly cleaned.

Right now, aside from feeling a bit empty, the shop no longer held any gruesome, restricted-level sights.

"Mr. Fu!"

Seeing Fu Qian come downstairs, Wen Li's eyes lit up.

"I thought I had the wrong place."

'You might as well say you suspected I gave you a fake address.'

His expression unchanging, Fu Qian opened the door and motioned for her to come inside.

Stepping into the shop, Wen Li glanced around, and her expression suddenly turned strange.

"Your shop... did a gas pipe explode?"

"You're overthinking it. A Night Watcher just had his head explode in here yesterday, that's all."

Fu Qian answered casually as he led her upstairs.

!!

Wen Li shuddered at his words, her face turning pale.

She looked up at Fu Qian cautiously.

"Did... did you kill a Night Watcher?"

'Where is your mind going? Do I really give off such a brutal impression?'

Fu Qian stared at Wen Li in great dissatisfaction.

"No."

"Ah!"

Seeing Fu Qian's expression, Wen Li instantly understood. She covered her mouth and gasped.

"A head explosion! I get it, just like at the banquet!"

"You ran into that Henrik yesterday? No wonder you reacted so quickly back then!"

'The actual situation was far more complicated than that!'

"Do you need something from me?"

Fu Qian didn't bother explaining further. After leading Wen Li upstairs, he started getting straight to the point.

"It's actually nothing particularly important."

Wen Li hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I heard some rumors earlier today concerning the incident at the banquet yesterday..."

'Oh?'

Fu Qian suddenly perked up.

"Let's hear it."

"There's a reason Henrik appeared at the banquet...

"Rumor has it that he was originally a warehouse guard for the Night Watchers. However, after being affected by the aura of transcendent materials for many years, his mind gradually became twisted.

"Eventually, he couldn't resist the temptation, stole an important material, and fled. No one expected him to lose his sanity and become bloodthirsty, relentlessly hunting down transcendents. And without exception, his targets were all Psychic Type.

"The reason he appeared at Houhai Manor is because the Chen Family is a rare clan that practices mental cultivation techniques."

'So that's how it is!'

Fu Qian recalled the feeling of his movements being restricted yesterday.

To be able to affect him to that extent, that Old Man's cultivation realm had to be pretty decent.

"The number of Psychic Type transcendents is relatively small. To Henrik, the descendants of the Chen Clan were undoubtedly a perfect group of targets, so it makes sense why he would risk appearing there."

Wen Li finished in one breath, looking somewhat melancholy.

"I actually find it hard to imagine. Are transcendent materials really that dangerous? Dangerous enough to make a high-ranking Night Watcher lose their mind?"

"It wasn't necessarily a transcendent material."

Fu Qian blinked, recalling the scenes he'd witnessed yesterday.

"Did you know there's a place inside the Night Watchers Base called the Restricted Zone?"

"The Restricted Zone!"

Wen Li was startled to hear that. It seemed she had heard of it before.

"Also, if I recall correctly, you're a Psychic Type as well?"

"You're right, I am."

Wen Li smiled bitterly.

"Actually, that's the reason I came to bother you today. I think he might have his eyes on me..."

"What makes you say that?"

"I went to visit an elder this morning. On the way home, I vaguely felt like I was being followed. It took a lot of effort to finally shake the pursuer off."

'Not surprising. Leveling up as easily as drinking water, getting targeted the moment you step outside—you clearly have the treatment of a child of destiny.'

"My abilities told me my pursuer harbored obvious malicious intent. Since I've been in Shangjing for less than a month, it stands to reason that I shouldn't have any enemies, so..."

"Your reasoning sounds somewhat logical, but what did you come to me for?"

"Well..."

Wen Li looked deeply embarrassed.

"Since it's just my personal feeling, I can't really go to the Night Watchers for help, so I thought..."

?

Looking at Wen Li's hesitant expression, Fu Qian suddenly understood what she meant.

"You want me to resume my old trade and protect you? Your nasty capitalist habit of exploiting people is hard to break!"

He had to admit, the news Wen Li brought was highly valuable and filled in several details for him.

However, Fu Qian was interested not only in the content of the news but also in Wen Li's actions themselves.

Yesterday, he had broken into the Night Watchers Base precisely to strike the grass to startle the snake.

And then, by sheer coincidence, Wen Li ran into trouble and came looking for him.

Although the entire chain of cause and effect seemed incredibly natural and flawless...

...when pieced together, there was still a lingering sense of weirdness to it.

The probability of Wen Li scheming against him was low, but what if she herself was unaware?

Of course, assuming everything she said was true and she really had been targeted by Henrik, then this was the legendary waiting by the stump for a hare.

As long as he kept an eye on her, Henrik would deliver himself right to the door, which would vastly simplify his mission.

No matter how you looked at it, this was worth a try.

Fu Qian's mind raced. Ultimately, under Wen Li's expectant gaze, he nodded.

Not expecting Fu Qian to be so straightforward, Wen Li was instantly overwhelmed with pleasant surprise and quickly stated that her car was already waiting downstairs.

'Wait!'

After getting into Wen Li's car, Fu Qian vaguely felt like he had forgotten something.

'Did we ever negotiate my payment?'

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