Eldritch Horror Theatre

What was that...

The two giant tentacles had vanished back underwater after a single strike, leaving no trace behind.

However, the brutal scene still left Delanlai completely dumbfounded. He didn't even worry that such a massive crash would further expose their position.

"She probably won't drown, but are you sure you're just going to leave her like that?"

Seeing this, Fu Qian pointed at the water and offered a friendly reminder.

"Was that... the Sea God?"

As if jolted awake from a dream, Delanlai whipped his head around to stare at Fu Qian. His expression held the bewildered daze of a shattered faith.

"Why would He listen to you?"

There was no mistake!

But how could such an entity answer to a mortal?

Yet the facts were right in front of his eyes. There was no doubt that He had appeared following this guy's movements. Wait—

Delanlai quickly realized something else.

"The attack on the ship outside... that was your order too..."

His voice had grown hoarse.

Had their meticulously designed extermination plan been under the control of something completely beyond his comprehension this whole time?

This horrifying possibility instantly amplified his dread of the pale gray world before him.

"That's impossible. Why would you do this? You—"

The next moment, Delanlai realized something else.

"You deliberately had Him drive everyone inside. Even this mermaid... you lured her in..."

Hehehe...

Faced with Delanlai's abundant imagination, Fu Qian let out a string of cold, mastermind-esque chuckles to play along.

After his laughter subsided, he didn't say another word, simply turning to walk away.

Still reeling from the shock of his own deductions, Delanlai gritted his teeth as he watched him leave, ultimately lacking the courage to stop him and demand an explanation.

Glancing down at his feet, he hesitated briefly before diving into the water to fish out a tangled ironwood cage.

Looking at the mermaid still struggling fiercely inside, his expression grew profound.

...

So far, it seemed that whether it was the mermaid or Delanlai, the anomalies they encountered could still be considered "normal."

As for himself, it was naturally the same.

Although the chaos and instability were obvious, as someone in the Demigod Realm, he was no longer so easily affected.

Silently summarizing his recent gains, Fu Qian sprinted all the way back onto the island, completely unconcerned about whether he would shock the people over on The Mountain.

His earlier words hadn't been to bluff Delanlai. No matter how cowardly Lane and his gang were, they would still manage to set up a lookout post simply to guarantee their own safety.

Given their known landing spot, it wasn't hard to deduce where this lookout would be placed.

Therefore, Fu Qian was absolutely certain that the sight of the giant tree shooting into the sky just now had terrified someone.

And when it came time for him to help by climbing a tree to catch fish, that location had gained a whole crowd of hidden observers.

He believed the subsequent shocking scene would effectively curb their thirst for revenge, allowing him to observe the independent sample of Delanlai and the little mermaid again to compare their before-and-after changes.

Considering his current strategy was to oppress all living beings and look for anomalies, the more probes he had, the better.

As for whether Delanlai would directly flee the Ash Sea out of fear?

Fu Qian wasn't worried about that at all.

That was the threat of the "Sea God." Even if they were running for their lives, as long as their brains weren't broken, no one would think of taking the water route.

As for Lane and the others, after witnessing that scene—even if they didn't know the contents of his conversation with Delanlai—Fu Qian believed they would quickly deduce that the "Sea God deliberately drove everyone in here," thus successfully stimulating their potential in a desperate situation.

Since this required a brainstorming process, Fu Qian was in no rush to disturb them.

What he needed to do right now was very simple.

By calculating speed and time, he would deduce Lady Burning Ash's possible range of activity and design the most logical search route.

Her earlier departure clearly had an ulterior motive, and a rather important one at that. Fu Qian wanted to confirm whether that motive had undergone any unexpected changes.

...

To his gratification, Lady Burning Ash seemed to have great faith in her partners, firmly believing they lacked the guts to trek over the mountains and follow her. Thus, her movements were quite unrestrained.

After venturing deep into the mountainous hinterland of the Floating Islands, Fu Qian soon spotted a familiar figure atop a coastal cliff.

With her back turned to him and making no sound, Lady Burning Ash looked quite picturesque as she gazed out at the vast expanse.

Being a fellow person of culture and refinement, Fu Qian naturally maintained a polite demeanor and didn't step forward to interrupt her.

After this slightly melancholy atmosphere persisted for a few minutes, Lady Burning Ash finally made a move.

She first took off her gloves and tossed them aside, then removed the mask from her face.

Looking from this angle, only half of her true profile was visible, the pink flesh on it looking somewhat hideous.

It wasn't too surprising. It looked just like her hands—as though she bore the scars of being burned by a raging fire.

It was understandable why Lane had specially allowed her to wear a mask. The title of Burning Ash was also quite fitting.

Sigh!

With a long sigh, Lady Burning Ash tossed the mask down as well. She groped around inside her coat and pulled something out.

Hmm... So you guys aren't just a poaching crew, you're also a musical instrument hobby group?

Upon seeing clearly what she had pulled out, Fu Qian felt his inner critic itching to make a snarky comment.

It was another Harmonica!

Whether in its exquisite design or the transcendent aura it contained, it was no inferior to the one in Lane's hands.

That one could summon a mermaid for a duet. Could it be that this one summoned a fishman?

The problem was, even among the poachers, her Rank wasn't particularly outstanding, not to mention she was currently in the Ash Sea.

If she really acted so recklessly, the outcome would be worrying.

While he was sighing in lament, Lady Burning Ash didn't waste any time. A bright melody slowly began to ring out.

In all fairness, her playing skills were mediocre—not even comparable to Lane's. Normally, she probably wouldn't even qualify as an amateur enthusiast.

However, she was clearly playing with utmost earnestness, keeping her eyes fixed on the seawater in front of her the entire time.

Unfortunately, no twisted fishman emerged to sing along. Aside from the echoing notes of the Harmonica, there was no other movement.

Lady Burning Ash didn't get discouraged. She repeated the same melody over and over again.

Finally, a hint of a discordant sound emerged from the waves crashing beneath the cliff.

A strangely shaped body, taking slow, deliberate steps, poked its head out of the water.

It seemed to be a person.

Fu Qian studied the figure that walked out of the sea and ultimately stood at the bottom of the cliff, looking up.

He could still distinguish a torso and limbs. It wasn't overly tall. Aside from its completely unrecognizable face, the most striking feature was the fish scales growing on various parts of its body.

It was just that these scales were not only arranged haphazardly, but their shapes were also bizarrely varied.

Furthermore, random sharp horns and dorsal spines could be seen jutting out from all over its body in no discernible pattern.

"Li Min..."

Watching this scene from above, Lady Burning Ash finally lowered the Harmonica and called out a name in a trembling voice.

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